CONFEDERATE  COMMERCE  DESTROYERS: 
Wood  and  Sinclair 


Wwm 


(^910.15 


CONFEDERATE  COMMERCE  DESTROYERS: 

THE  "TALLAHASSEE'S"  DASH  INTO  NEW  YORK  WATERS. 
By  John  Taylor  Wood. 

THE  EVENTFUL  CRUISE  OF  THE  "FLORIDA" . 
By  G.Terry  Sinclair. 


Century 
July, 1898. 


Library  of 
The  University  of  North  Carolina 


COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINIANA 


ENDOWED  BY 

JOHN  SPRUNT  HILL 

of  the  Class  of  1889 


Cp9?0/TS-lA/S2 


Zih~  .'.'.    BY  J.  O.  OAVIOSON 


NIGHT   ESCAPE  OF  THE   "TALLAHASSEE      OFF  WILMINGTON. 


CONFEDERATE    COMMERCE  -DESTROYERS. 

I.     THE   "TALLAHASSEE'S"   DASH  INTO  NEW  YORK  WATERS. 


BY   HER   COMMANDER,  JOHN   TAYLOR   WOOD,   COLONEL  C.  S.  A. 


FROM  the  capes  of  the  Chesapeake  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande  is  a  coast- 
line over  three  thousand  miles;  and,  as  the 
blockade  began  at  Washington  on  the  Poto- 
mac, if  we  include  the  inland  waters  of  Vir- 
ginia, North  Carolina,  and  other  States,  this 
distance  is  doubled.  It  was  this  long  stretch 
of  coast,  fronting  on  nine  States,  that  by 
proclamation  of  President  Lincoln  was 
placed  under  blockade  in  the  spring  of 
1861.  The  means  of  making  it  effective 
were  inadequate.  The  navy  of  the  United 
States,  comprising  some  forty  vessels,  was 
distributed  on  different  stations  in  every 
part  of  the  world.  Not  more  than  five  or 
six  steamers  were  immediately  available. 
However,  a  navy  was  rapidly  improvised  by 
the  purchase  or  charter  of  a  large  number 
of  steamers  of  all  kinds  and  classes,  from  a 

1  Colonel  Wood  was  a  lieutenant  on  the  Merrimac  in 
the  fight  with  the  Monitor,  and  described  that  action  in 
The  Century  Magazine  for  March,  1885.  See  also  the 
Century  War-Book,  "Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil 
War,"  Vol.  I,  page  692. -Editor. 

408 


ferry-boat  to  a  Liverpool  steam-packet;  and 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months  the  principal 
points  were  covered;  but  not  as  they  were 
later,  when,  during  the  last  years  of  the  war, 
a  larger  number  of  vessels  were  employed  in 
blockading  Wilmington  or  Charleston  than 
were  used  on  the  whole  coast  during  the  first 
year.  Independent  of  the  men-of-war  built 
at  the  Union  navy-yards,  nearly  500  vessels, 
principally  steamers,  were  taken  from  the 
merchant  service  and  converted  into  cruisers. 
As  great  as  was  the  extent  of  the  Con- 
federate coast,  but  comparatively  few  points 
had  to  be  guarded.  From  Cape  Henry  to 
Wilmington  there  was  but  one  harbor  that 
could  be  used— that  of  Beaufort,  which  was 
soon  occupied  by  the  Federals.  The  inlets 
and  sounds  of  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and 
the  Gulf  States,  which  were  easily  accessi- 
ble, were  not  used  by  the  blockade-runners, 
for  they  had  no  connections  with  the  inte- 
rior, and  no  facilities  for  handling  cargoes. 
And  e\en  the  few  ports  that  could  be  en- 
tered were  rapidly  lessened  by  occupation, 


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YD 


CONFEDERATE   COMMERCE-DESTROYERS. 


409 


both  in  the  Gulf  and  the  Atlantic;  so  that 
after  the  second  year  of  the  war  but  two 
ports— Wilmington  and  Charleston— were 
open  to  the  Confederacy. 

It  was  through  these  that  the  Confederates 
continued  to  receive  supplies  of  all  kinds  to 
within  a  few  months  of  the  close  of  the  war. 
Both  were  difficult  of  approach  on  account 
of  the  shoals  which  obstruct  their  harbors, 
and  for  the  same  reason  it  was  difficult  to 
blockade  them  effectually.  With  the  occupa- 
tion of  Morris  Island,  and  the  closing  of  all 
channels  but  one  leading  to  Charleston,  Wil- 
mington became  the  favorite  resort.  This 
town  is  situated  on  Cape  Fear  River, 
about  thirty  miles  above  its  two  entrances 
into  the  Atlantic.  Fronting  the  mouth  of 
the  river  is  Smith's  Island  and  Frying-Pan 
Shoals,  extending  seaward  some  eighteen 
miles.  Though  the  two  entrances  are  only 
six  miles  apart,  the  distance  by  sea  is  some 
forty  miles,  and  each  required  a  distinct 
blockading  squadron.  The  access  to  both 
was  hazardous  on  acccount  of  shoals,  shift- 
ing in  position  and  depth  of  water  with  every 
heavy  gale.  The  western  inlet  was  guarded 
by  Fort  Caswell,  an  ante-bellum  work.  The 
eastern  or  new  inlet  was  protected  by  Fort 
Fisher,  a  very  formidable  earthwork  with 
outlying  defenses. 

On  either  flank  and  in  front  of  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  the  United  States  are  the  English 
stations  of  Halifax,  Nassau,  and  Bermuda. 
The  last  two  were  the  main  feeders  of  the 
blockade.  Nassau,  on  one  of  the  Bahamas, 
is  six  hundred  miles  south  of  Wilmington, 
and  Bermuda  seven  hundred  miles  east. 
Both  can  be  approached  from  every  direc- 
tion, and  afforded  safe  and  hospitable  ports 
for  the  blockade-runners.  Halifax,  eight 
hundred  miles  to  the  northward  and  east- 
ward, was  used  only  occasionally.  At  the 
outset  steamers,  and  even  sailing-vessels, 
were  used  for  this  trade;  but  as  the  strin- 
gency of  the  blockade  increased,  steamers 
better  fitted  for  the  work  were  employed,  and 
finally  a  class  especially  adapted  to  the  ser- 
vice was  built  in  England.  They  were  long, 
low,  lightly  constructed  iron  steamers  of 
light  draft,  with  powerful  motive  power, 
either  screw  or  feathered  paddle-wheels,  with 
no  spars,  and  were  painted  lead-color. 

The  captain  of  a  successful  blockade- 
runner  needed  to  be  a  thorough  seaman  and 
a  skilful  navigator.  His  work  required  bold- 
ness, decision  in  emergencies,  and  the  faculty 
of  commanding  and  inspiring  the  confidence 
of  his  crew.  There  were  captains  who  ran  in 
and  out  a  great  number  of  times.  Captain 
Vol.  LVI.-52. 


John  Wilkinson  made  twenty-one  successful 
runs  inside  of  twelve  months,  and  not  in  a 
fast  steamer.  That  absence  of  these  quali- 
ties would  invite  loss  was  made  apparentin 
a  great  number  of  instances,  when  the  steam- 
ers were  almost  thrown  away  by  bad  land- 
falls, or  by  the  captain  or  crew  wilting  at 
the  first  sight  of  a  cruiser  or  the  sound  of 
a  gun.  The  pecuniary  stake  was  large;  and 
blockade-running  offered  a  certain  amount 
of  excitement  and  adventure  that  drew 
into  its  service  some  distinguished  foreign 
naval  officers,  who,  under  their  own  or 
assumed  names,  made  the  most  successful 
commanders. 

Among  the  steamers  coming  to  Wilming- 
ton I  had  long  been  on  the  lookout  for  a  suita- 
ble one  which  would  answer  for  a  cruiser,  and 
finally  selected  the  Atlanta,  an  iron  twin- 
screw  of  seven  hundred  tons  gross,  and  two 
hundred  feet  long.  She  had  been  built  at 
Millwall,  below  London,  ostensibly  for  the 
Chinese  opium  trade;  and  was  a  first-class, 
well-constructed  vessel,  and  fast,  making 
fourteen  and  a  quarter  knots  on  her  trial 
trip.  She  had  two  engines,  which  could  be 
worked  together  or  separately.  The  neces- 
sary changes  were  soon  made  to  receive  the 
crew  and  armament.  The  latter  consisted 
of  one  rifled  100-pounder  amidships,  one 
rifled,  60-hundredweight  32-pounder  for- 
ward, and  one  long  Parrott  aft.  The 
officers  and  crew  were  all  volunteers  from 
the  Confederate  gunboats  on  the  James 
River  and  North  Carolina  waters.  She  was 
formally  put  in  commission  on  July  20, 1864, 
and  rechristened  the  Tallahassee. 

My  orders  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
were  general  in  their  scope.  "  The  character 
and  force  of  your  vessel,"  they  said,  "  point 
to  the  enemy's  commerce  as  the  most  appro- 
priate field  of  action,  and  the  existing  block- 
ade of  our  ports  constrains  the  destruction 
of  our  prizes." 

Ten  days  sufficed  to  get  things  in  working 
order,  and  the  crew  into  shape,  when  we 
dropped  down  the  river  to  wait  a  favorable 
time  for  running  the  gantlet,  which  was 
only  when  there  was  no  moon  and  when  the 
tide  served.  I  determined  to  try  the  eastern, 
or  new,  inlet,  and  on  the  night  of  August  4 
the  outlook  was  favorable.  Everything  was 
secured  for  sea.  The  lights  were  all  care- 
fully housed,  except  the  binnacle,  which  was 
shaded;  fires  were  cleaned  and  freshened, 
lookouts  were  stationed,  and  the  men  were 
at  their  quarters.  The  range  lights  were 
placed;  these,  in  the  absence  of  all  buoys 
and  lights,  were  necessary  in  crossing  the 


410 


THE   CENTURY   MAGAZINE. 


bar,  and  were  shown  only  when  vessels  were 
going  in  and  out.  The  Mound,  a  huge  earth- 
work, loomed  up  ahead,  looking  in  the  dark- 
ness like  a  black  cloud  resting  on  the  horizon. 
We  started  ahead  slowly,  but  brought  up  on 
the  "  rip,"  or  inner  shoal.  Two  hours  of  hard 
work  with  the  engines,  and  with  a  kedge 
astern,  were  lost  before  we  got  off,  and  then 
it  was  too  late  for  the  tide.  We  turned  up 
the  river  a  short  distance,  and  anchored. 
The  next  night  we  had  the  same  experience, 
except  that  we  grounded  so  badly  that  it 
required  three  steamers  to  tow  us  off. 

Finding  that  with  the  state  of  the  tide  and 
our  thirteen  and  a  half  feet  draft  the  eastern 
inlet  was  impracticable,  I  determined  to  try 
the  western  one.  Steaming  down  to  Fort 
Caswell,  we  waited  for  darkness.  Only  a  few 
fleeting  clouds  were  in  the  sky.  As  the  moon 
went  down  on  the  night  of  August  6,  at  ten, 
we  approached  the  bar,  fearful  of  a  repeti- 
tion of  our  previous  mishaps;  and  as  the 
leadsman  called  out  the  water  in  a  low  tone, 
our  hearts  rose  in  our  throats  as  it  shoaled: 
"By  the  mark  three, — and  a  quarter  less 
three,— and  a  half  two,— and  a  quarter  two." 
She  touched,  but  did  not  bring  up.  Then 
came  the  joyful  words:    "And  a  half  two." 

We  had  just  grazed  the  "  Lump,"  a  bad 
shoal  in  mid-channel,  and  were  over  the  bar. 
Chief  Engineer  Tynan  was  by  my  side  on 
the  bridge.  I  turned  to  him  and  said:  "  Open 
her  out,  sir,  but  let  her  go  for  all  she  is 
worth."  With  a  bound  he  was  in  the  engine- 
room,  and  in  a  few  moments  I  knew  from  the 
tremor  of  the  vessel  that  the  order  was  obeyed, 
and  with  a  full  head  of  steam  we  leaped  on. 
"A  sharp  lookout  ahead!"  was  the  order 
passed  forward.  We  were  hardly  clear  of  the 
bar  when  back  came  the  words:  "A  steamer 
on  the  starboard  bow!"  "A  steamer  ahead!" 
The  two  made  us  out  at  the  same  time,  and 
signaled.  I  hailed  the  forecastle,  and  asked 
how  the  steamer  under  our  bows  was  heading. 
"  To  the  southward,"  was  the  reply.  The  helm 
was  accordingly  ported,  and  we  passed  be- 
tween them,  so  close  under  the  stern  of  the 
one  that  was  ahead  that  a  biscuit  could  have 
been  tossed  on  board.  As  we  dashed  by  we 
heard  the  sharp,  quick  words  of  command  of 
the  officer  in  charge  of  the  after  pivot: "  Run 
out!"  "Starboard  tackle  handsomely!"  "El- 
evate!" "Steady!"  "Stand  clear!"  Then  the 
flash  from  the  muzzle,  like  a  gleam  of  light- 
ning, illumined  the  water  for  a  moment,  and  a 
heavy  shell  flew  singing  over  our  heads,  leav- 
ing a  trail  like  a  comet.  It  was  an  excellent 
line  shot.  That  order,  "  Elevate! "  had  saved 
us.  The  steamer  on  the  starboard  side  opened, 


and  our  opponents,  now  on  our  quarter,  joined 
in;  but  their  practice  was  wild,  and  in  a  few 
moments  they  were  out  of  sight.  I  did  not 
return  their  fire,  for  it  would  only  have  shown 
our  position,  and  I  did  not  wish  our  true  char- 
acter to  be  known,  preferring  that  they  should 
suppose  us  an  ordinary  blockade-runner. 

During  the  night  we  ran  to  the  southward 
until  clear  of  Frying-Pan  Shoals,  and  then 
hauled  up  to  the  eastward.  More  to  be  feared 
than  the  inshore  squadron  were  the  vessels 
cruising  offshore  from  forty  to  fifty  miles,  in 
a  position  to  sight  at  daylight  the  vessels 
that  might  come  out  during  the  night,  and 
these  were  the  fastest  and  most  efficient 
blockaders.  I  was  not  surprised  when,  at 
daylight  the  next  morning,  a  cruiser  was  re- 
ported in  sight  astern,  hull  up.  As  we  were 
outlined  against  the  eastern  sky,  she  had 
seen  us  first,  and  from  the  dense  smoke  issu- 
ing from  her  funnel  I  knew  she  was  in  sharp 
chase.  At  eight  another  steamer  was  made 
out  ahead.  I  changed  our  course  eight 
points,  bringing  one  on  each  beam,  and  the 
chase  became  interesting.  One  we  made  out 
to  be  a  large  side-wheeler,  and  she  held  her 
own,  if  she  did  not  gain.  Mr.  Tynan  made 
frequent  visits  to  the  engine-room,  trying  to 
coax  out  a  few  more  revolutions;  and  he  suc- 
ceeded, for  we  brought  them  gradually  on  our 
quarter,  and  by  noon  had  lowered  their  hulls 
two  or  three  strakes.  It  was  at  times  like 
this  that  the  ship  and  engines  proved  them- 
selves reliable;  for  had  a  screw  loosened  or  a 
journal  heated  we  should  have  been  lost. 

The  ship  was  very  deep  with  an  extra 
supply  of  coal,  and  probably  out  of  trim,  so 
we  were  prepared,  if  hard  pressed,  to  sacri- 
fice some  of  it.  Fortunately  it  was  calm,  and 
they  could  not  use  their  canvas  to  help  them. 
It  was  Sunday,  and  feeling  relieved  as  to  our 
pursuers,  all  hands  were  called,  and  divine 
service  was  read.  By  4  p.  M.  our  pursuers 
were  astern,  hull  down,  and  had  evidently 
given  *up.  About  the  same  time  another  was 
sighted  from  the  masthead;  but  by  changing 
our  course  a  few  points  she  was  kept  at  a 
respectful  distance.  Just  after  dark  we  were 
nearly  on  top  of  another  before  we  could 
change  our  course.  Burning  a  blue  light, 
the  stranger  headed  for  us.  As  we  did  not 
answer  her  signal,  it  was  repeated,  and  a 
minute  later  she  opened  fire.  The  shells 
passed  uncomfortably  near,  but  in  a  half- 
hour  we  lost  sight  of  each  other  in  the  dark- 
ness. The  fact  that  we  were  chased  by  four 
cruisers  on  our  first  day  out  proved  how 
effective  was  the  blockade.  Upward  of  fifty 
vessels  were  employed  at  this  time  outside 


CONFEDERATE   COMMERCE-DESTROYERS. 


411 


the  port  of  Wilmington, — vessels,  of  all  kinds, 
from  the  40-gun  frigate  to  the  captured  tin- 
plate  blockade-runner,  —  a  larger  number  than 
were  ever  before  employed  on  like  service  at 
one  port. 

The  next  few  days  were  uneventful.  We 
stood  to  the  northward  and  eastward,  under 
easy  steam,  and  spoke  several  English  and 
foreign  vessels,  from  one  of  which  we  got 
late  New  York  papers.  Twenty  miles  below 
Long  Branch  we  made  our  first  prize,  the 
schooner  Sarah  A.  Boice  of  Boston,  for  Phil- 
adelphia in  ballast.  Her  crew  and  their  per- 
sonal effects  were  brought  on  board,  and  she 
was  scuttled.  In  all  cases  the  prisoners  were 
allowed  to  retain  a  bag  of  their  clothes;  nor 
were  they  asked  for  their  money,  watches, 
etc.  In  one  case  it  was  reported  to  me  that 
one  of  the  crew  had  taken  a  watch  from  a 
prisoner;  this  being  found  to  be  true,  it  was 
returned,  and  the  man  was  punished.  The 
chronometers,  charts,  and  medicine-chests 
were  the  only  things  taken  out  of  the  prizes, 
except  such  provisions  as  were  necessary. 

Standing  over  toward  Fire  Island  Light, 
on  the  Long  Island  shore,  we  found  seven 
sail  in  sight.  One  ran  down  toward  us,  which 
we  recognized  at  once  as  a  New  York  pilot- 
boat.  She  luffed  to  under  our  quarter, 
launched  a  small  boat,  and  a  few  minutes 
later  a  large,  well-dressed  man  in  black,  with 
a  high  hat,  heavy  gold  watch-guard,  a  small 
valise,  and  a  bundle  of  papers  under  his  arm, 
stepped  over  the  side.  As  he  did  so  his  eyes 
glanced  up  at  our  flag  at  the  peak,  which  was 
lazily  unfolding  in  a  light  breeze. 

"My !  what  is  that?   What  ship  is 

this?"  said  he,  turning  to  me. 

"The  Confederate  cruiser  Tallahassee,"  I 
replied. 

A  more  astonished  man  never  stood  on 
deck  of  vessel.  He  turned  deadly  pale,  and 
drops  of  perspiration  broke  from  every  pore; 
but  rapidly  bracing  himself,  he  took  in  the 
situation,  and  prepared  to  make  the  best  of 
it.  He  was  told  that  his  vessel  was  a  prize, 
and  that  I  would  make  a  tender  of  her.  He 
was  ordered  to  go  on  board,  and  return  with 
his  crew  and  their  personal  effects.  It  was 
the  pilot-boat  James  Funk,  No.  22,  one  of  a 
class  of  fine  weatherly  schooners  found  off 
New  York,  from  one  to  two  hundred  miles  out, 
at  all  seasons,  manned  by  as  thorough  seamen 
as  ever  trod  ship's  deck.  Years  before,  while 
attached  to  the  sloop  of  war  Germantown,  I 
had  seen  one  of  them  work  this  vessel  under 
sail  down  the  East  River,  against  a  head  wind 
but  fair  tide,  "  backing  and  filling  "  in  a  man- 
ner that  called  forth  the  admiration  of  all. 


I  put  on  board  two  officers  and  twenty  men. 
with  orders  to  keep  within  signal  distance, 
She  was  very  efficient  when  several  sail  were 
in  sight,  overhauling  and  bringing  alongside 
vessels,  that  I  might  decide  upon  their  fate. 
The  captures  of  the  bark  Bay  State  and  the 
brigs  Carrie  Estelle  and  A.  Richards  followed 
in  quick  succession.  We  had  now  over  forty 
prisoners  and  their  baggage  on  board,  lum- 
bering up  our  decks,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  make  some  disposition  of  them.  Toward 
night  No.  22  brought  alongside  the  schooner 
Carroll.  She  was  bonded  by  the  captain,  act- 
ing for  the  owners,  for  ten  thousand  dollars; 
and  after  he  had  given  a  written  engagement 
to  land  the  prisoners  at  New  York,  they  went 
on  board  with  their  effects.  Before  leaving 
they  were  all  paroled.  All  the  prisoners  we 
made,  with  hardly  an  exception,  were  most 
eager  for  their  paroles.  One  said:  "This  is 
worth  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to  me." 
"I  would  not  take  a  thousand  dollars  for 
mine,"  said  another.  One  skipper  said  that  if 
it  would  protect  him  from  the  draft  he  was 
partly  reconciled  to  the  loss  of  his  vessel. 
Another,  whose  vessel  had  been  bonded, 
brought  all  his  crew  on  board  to  secure 
their  papers. 

The  next  victim  was  another  pilot-boat, 
the  William.  Bell,  No.  24.  My  object  in  cap- 
turing these  vessels  was,  if  possible,  to  secure 
a  pilot  who  could  either  be  paid  or  coerced 
to  take  the  ship  through  Hell  Gate  into 
Long  Island  Sound.  It  was  now  near  the 
full  moon.  It  was  my  intention  to  run  up 
the  harbor  just  after  dark,  as  I  knew  the  way 
in  by  Sandy  Hook,  then  to  go  on  up  the  East 
River,  setting  fire  to  the  shipping  on  both 
sides,  and  when  abreast  of  the  navy-yard  to 
open  fire,  hoping  some  of  our  shells  might  set 
fire  to  the  buildings  and  any  vessels  that 
might  be  at  the  docks,  and  finally  to  steam 
through  Hell  Gate  into  the  Sound.  I  knew 
from  the  daily  papers,  which  we  received 
only  a  day  or  two  old,  what  vessels  were  in 
port,  and  that  there  was  nothing  then  ready 
that  could  oppose  us.  But  no  pilot  could  be 
found  who  knew  the  road,  or  who  was  willing 
to  undertake  it,  and  I  was  forced  to  abandon 
the  scheme. 

From  these  inquiries  arose  the  report  that 
I  would  attempt  to  enter  the  harbor.  Three 
days  were  spent  between  the  light-ship  and 
Montauk  Point,  sometimes  within  thirty  miles 
of  the  former — and  about  twenty  prizes  were 
taken.  The  most  important  was  the  packet- 
ship  Adriatic,  one  thousand  tons,  from  Lon- 
don, with  a  large  and  valuable  cargo  and  one 
hundred  and  seventy  passengers.  On  account 


THE   "TALLAHASSEE"   CHASING   THE   PILOT-BOAT   "WILLIAM   BELL." 


of  the  latter  I  was  afraid  I  would  have  to 
bond  the  ship;  but  fortunately  our  tender 
came  down  before  the  wind,  convoying  the 
bark  Suliote,  and  I  determined  to  use  her  as 
a  cartel  after  the  captain  had  given  bonds 
for  ten  thousand  dollars.  She  was  laden  with 
coal;  but  the  distance  to  Sandy  Hook  was 
only  seventy  miles.  The  passengers  were 
nearly  all  Germans,  and  when  told  that  their 
ship  was  to  be  burned  were  terribly  alarmed ; 
and  it  was  some  time  before  they  could  com- 
prehend that  we  did  not  intend  to  burn  them 
also.  Three  hours  were  occupied  in  transfer- 
ring them  and  their  effects  with  our  boats. 
In  many  cases  they  insisted  upon  taking 
broken  china,  bird-cages,  straw  beds,  and  the 
most  useless  articles,  leaving  their  valuables 
behind.  After  all  were  safely  on  board  the 
Suliote,  the  Adriatic  was  fired  [see  page  417] ; 
and  as  night  came  on  the  burning  ship  illu- 
mined the  waters  for  miles,  making  a  picture 
of  rare  beauty.   The  breeze  was  light  and 

412 


tantalizing,  so  our  tender  was  taken  in  tow, 
and  we  steamed  slowly  to  the  eastward  to- 
ward Nantucket.  The  neighborhood  of  New 
York  had  been  sufficiently  worked,  and  the 
game  was  alarmed  and  scarce. 

Rounding  South  Shoal  light-ship,  we 
stood  in  toward  Boston  Bay.  As  the  tender 
proved  a  drawback  to  our  rapid  movements, 
I  determined  to  destroy  her.  It  was  a  mis- 
take, for  I  was  authorized  by  the  government 
to  fit  out  any  prize  as  a  cruiser,  and  this  one 
ought  to  have  been  sent  along  the  eastern 
coast.  A  number  of  sail  were  sighted,  but 
most  of  them  were  foreigners;  this  could  be 
told  by  the  "  cut  of  their  jibs."  It  was  not 
necessary  to  speak  them.  A  few  unimportant 
captures  were  made,  and  then  we  sighted  a 
large  bark.  First  Lieutenant  Ward,  the 
boarding  officer,  returned,  and  reported  the 
Glenarvon,  Captain  Watt,  a  fine  new  vessel 
of  Thomaston,  Maine,  from  Glasgow  with 
iron.    He  was  ordered  to  return  and  secure 


CONFEDERATE   COMMERCE-DESTROYERS. 


413 


the  nautical  instruments,  etc.,  and  scuttle 
her,  and  bring  on  board  the  prisoners.  The 
captain  had  his  wife  on  board,  and  as  pas- 
sengers another  captain  returning  home  with 
his  wife—  an  elderly  pair.  We  watched  the 
bark  as  she  slowly  settled,  strake  by  strake, 
until  her  deck  was  awash,  and  then  her  stern 
sank  gradually  out  of  sight  until  she  was  in 
an  upright  position,  and  one  mast  after  an- 
other disappeared  with  all  sail  set,  sinking  as 
quietly  as  if  human  hands  were  lowering  her 
into  the  depths.  Hardly  a  ripple  broke  the 
quiet  waters.  Her  head  spars  were  the  last 
seen.  Captain  Watt  and  his  wife  never  took 
their  eyes  off  their  floating  home,  but  side 
by  side,  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  watched  her 
disappear.  "  Poor  fellow,"  she  said  afterward ; 
"  he  has  been  going  to  sea  for  thirty  years, 
and  all  our  savings  were  in  that  ship.  We 
were  saving  for  our  dear  children  at  home— 
five  of  them." 

Miserable  business  is  war,  ashore  or  afloat. 
A  brave,  true,  and  gentle  woman,  at  the  same 
time  strong  in  her  conviction  of  what  she 
thought  right,  was  the  captain's  wife,  and  she 
soon  won  the  admiration  and  respect  of  all 
on  board.  But  what  shall  I  say  of  the  pas- 
senger and  his  wife?  If  I  said  she  was  the 
very  reverse  of  the  above,  it  would  not  begin 
to  do  her  justice.  She  came  on  board  scold- 
ing, and  left  scolding.  Her  tongue  was  slung 
amidships,  and  never  tired.  Her  poor  hus- 
band, patient  and  meek  as  the  patriarch, 
came  in  for  his  full  share.  Perhaps  the  sur- 
roundings and  the  salt  air  acted  as  an  irri- 
tant, for  I  can  hardly  conceive  of  this  cataract 
.of  words  poured  on  a  man's  head  on  shore 
without  something  desperate  happening. 
Even  Mrs.  Watt  did  not  escape  for  quietly 
criticizing  President  Lincoln  and  his  conduct 
of  the  war,  particularly  as  regards  the  navy, 
on  which  point  she  could  speak  feelingly, 
Xantippe  even  threatened  to  report  her  to  the 
police  as  soon  as  they  reached  the  United 
States.  At  rare  intervals  there  was  a  calm, 
and  then  she  employed  the  time  in  distribut- 
ing tracts  and  Testaments.  When  she  left 
us  to  take  passage  in  a  Russian  bark,  she 
called  down  on  us  all  the  imprecations  that 
David  showered  on  his  enemies.  And  as  a 
final  effort  to  show  how  she  would  serve  us, 
she  snatched  her  bonnet  from  her  head,  tore 
it  in  pieces,  and  threw  it  into  the  sea.  Peace 
to  her  memory!  I  gave  them  my  cabin;  in- 
deed, from  the  time  of  leaving  Wilmington 
I  had  but  little  use  of  it.  I  slept  and  lived  on 
the  bridge  or  in  the  chart-room,  hardly  tak- 
ing off  my  clothes  for  weeks. 

We  ran  along  the  eastern  coast  as  far  as 


Matinicus,  Maine,  but  overhauled  nothing  of 
importance,  only  passing  a  large  number  of 
small  fishing-craft  and  coasters.  One  night 
a  large  steamer,  heavily  sparred,  passed 
within  musket-shot,  but  did  not  see  us. 
Her  lights  were  in  sight  for  an  hour,  but  we 
showed  none.  Steering  to  the  eastward  round 
Seal  Island  and  Cape  Sable  Island,  the  west- 
ern extremity  of  Nova  Scotia,  we,  of  course, 
had  our  share  of  the  "  ever-brooding,  all-con- 
cealing fog "  which  in  the  summer  season  is 
a  fixed  quantity  in  this  neighborhood.  Sud- 
denly, one  evening,  the  fog  lifted,  and  we  dis- 
covered a  ship  close  aboard.  Passing  under 
her  stern,  we  read  James  Littlefield  of  Bangor. 
Hailing  the  captain,  and  asking  him  where 
from,  and  where  bound,  "  From  Cardiff,  with 
coals  for  New  York,"  came  back  as  his  an- 
swer. He  was  told  to  heave  to.  Here  was 
the  cargo  of  all  others  that  we  wanted,  and 
I  determined  to  utilize  it,  if  possible.  Lieu- 
tenant Ward  was  sent  on  board  to  take 
charge,  put  her  under  easy  sail,  and  keep 
within  one  or  two  cable-lengths  of  the 
steamer.  As  the  night  closed  in  the  fog  be- 
came denser  than  ever,  so  much  so  that  one 
end  of  the  vessel  could  not  be  seen  from  the 
other — a  genuine  Bay  of  Fundy  fog,  one  that 
could  be  handled.  For  some  hours,  by  blow- 
ing our  whistle  every  five  minutes,  while  the 
ship  was  ringing  a  bell,  we  kept  within  sound 
of  each  other.  But  the  latter  gradually  grew 
duller,  until  we  lost  it  altogether;  and  I  spent 
an  anxious  night,  fearing  that  should  it  con- 
tinue thick  we  might  be  separated.  But  soon 
after  sunrise  a  rift  in  the  fog,  disclosing  a 
small  sector  of  the  horizon,  showed  us  the 
ship  some  five  miles  away.  Steaming  along- 
side, I  determined  to  take  no  more  risks  in 
the  fog.  Banking  our  fires,  we  passed  a 
hawser  from  our  bows  to  the  ship's  quarter, 
and  let  her  tow  us.  I  held  on  to  the  ship, 
hoping  it  would  become  smooth  enough  to 
lay  the  two  vessels  alongside  and  take  out  a 
supply  of  coals ;  for  although  there  was  only 
a  moderate  breeze,  there  was  an  old  sea  run- 
ning from  the  south'ard.  To  use  our  boats 
would  have  been  an  endless  and  dangerous 
operation.  I  thought  of  taking  her  into  one 
of  the  small  outposts  on  the  neighboring 
coast  of  Nova  Scotia;  but  this  would  have 
been  a  clear  case  of  violation  of  neutral  ter- 
ritory. The  day  passed  without  change  in 
weather  or  sea,  and  very  reluctantly  I  was 
compelled  to  abandon  the  hope  of  free  coals, 
and  look  to  Halifax  for  a  supply.  Ordering 
Lieutenant  Ward  to  scuttle  the  ship,  we  left 
her  to  be  a  home  for  the  cod  and  lobster. 
After  being  two  or  three  days  without 


THE    SINKING   OF   THE   BARK    "GLENARVON." 


observations  and  without  a  departure,  to  find 
your  port  in  a  thick  fog  requires  a  sharp 
lookout  and  a  constant  use  of  the  lead. 
However,  we  made  a  good  hit.  The  first 
"  land  "  we  made  was  the  red  head  of  a  fish- 
erman, close  under  our  bows,  in  a  small  boat, 
who,  in  the  voice  of  a  Boanerges,  and  in  words 
more  forcible  than  complimentary,  warned  us 
against  tearing  his  nets.  In  answer  to  our 
inquiries  in  regard  to  the  bearings  of  Sambro, 
Chebucto  Head,  etc.,  he  offered  to  pilot  the 
ship  in.  Accepting  his  services,  and  taking 
his  boat  in  tow,  we  stood  up  the  harbor. 
Soon  we  emerged  from  the  fog,  and  the  city 
of  Halifax  was  in  sight. 

The  harbor  of  Halifax  is  well  known  as 
safe,  commodious,  easy  of  access,  and  offer- 
ing many  advantages.  Coming  to  anchor,  I 
had  my  gig  manned,  and  went  on  board  the 
line-of-battle  ship  Duncan,  to  call  upon  Sir 
James  Hope,  commanding  on  this  station, 
and  then  upon  the  governor,  Sir  Richard 
Graves  MacDonald,  who  received  me  very 
kindly,  asking  me  to  breakfast  next  morning, 
a  compliment  which  I  was  obliged  to  decline, 
owing  to  the  limited  time  at  my  disposal.  By 
the  Queen's  proclamation,  the  belligerents 
could  use  her  ports  only  for  twenty-four 
hours,  except  in  case  of  distress,  and  take 
no  supplies,  except  sufficient  to  reach  the 
nearest  home  port.  I  wanted  only  coal,  and 
by  the  energetic  action  of  our  agents,  Messrs. 
B.  Wier  &  Co.,  I  was  able  to  procure  a  sup- 
ply of  the  best  Welsh.  To  a  distinguished 
gentleman  of  the  medical  profession  we  were 
indebted  for  a  new  spar;  for  I  neglected  to 
mention  that  while  off  New  York  we  were  in 
collision  with  the  ship  Adriatic,  and  lost  our 
mainmast  and  all  attached. 

From  the  time  of  our  arrival,  Judge  Jack- 
son, the  energetic  American  consul,  had  not 


ceased  to  bombard  the  authorities,  both  civil 
and  military,  with  proofs,  protests,  and  pro- 
tocols in  regard  to  our  ship.  He  alleged  gen- 
eral misdemeanors,  that  we  had  violated  all 
the  rules  of  war,  and  protested  against  our 
taking  in  supplies.  The  provincial  govern- 
ment acted  as  a  buffer,  and  I  heard  of  the 
protests  only  in  a  modified  form.  However,  I 
was  anxious  to  conform  to  the  Queen's  man- 
date, and  could  only  plead  our  partly  dis- 
abled condition  for  exceeding  the  twenty- 
four  hours.  To  my  request  for  an  additional 
twelve  hours  I  received  the  following  answer: 

Government  House,  Halifax,  N.  S., 
19th  August,  1864. 
Sir:  In  reply  to  your  application  for  additional 
time  to  ship  a  mainmast,  I  have  no  objection  to 
grant  it,  as  I  am  persuaded  that  I  can  rely  on  your 
not  taking  any  unfair  advantage  of  the  indulgence 
which  I  concede.  I  do  so  the  more  readily  because 
I  find  that  you  have  not  attempted  to  ship  more 
than  the  quantity  of  coals  necessary  for  your  im- 
mediate use.     I  have,  etc., 

(Signed)    Eichard  G.  MacDonald, 
Lieut. -Governor. 
Com.  J.  Taylor  Wood,  C.  S.  Cruiser  Tallahassee. 

In  writing  to  Mr.  Cardwell,  Secretary  of 
State  for  the  Colonies,  on  the  23d  of  August, 
the  lieutenant-governor  said: 

It  was  clear  that  a  cruiser  reported  to  have 
captured  or  destroyed  between  thirty  or  forty 
vessels  in  about  twelve  days,  and  said  to  have 
speed  exceeding  by  five  knots  that  of  the  Alabama, 
was  the  most  formidable  adversary  which  Federal 
commerce  had  yet  encountered.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, if  she  was  permitted  to  take  in  a  sup- 
ply of  coal  here  in  excess  of  that  strictly  allowed, 
I  felt  that  I  should  be  enabling  her  to  use  one  of 
her  Majesty's  ports  for  the  purpose  of  procuring 
the  material  most  destructive  to  the  shipping  and 
property  of  a  power  with  which  her  Majesty  is  at 


CONFEDERATE    COMMERCE-DESTROYERS. 


415 


peace.  In  the  peculiar  case  of  the  Tallahassee, 
every  five  tons  of  coal  in  excess  of  the  amount 
strictly  allowable  might  be  regarded  as  insuring 
heavy  loss  to  Federal  shipping.  Accordingly,  when 
Captain  Wood  applied  later  in  the  day  for  permis- 
sion to  complete  his  complement  of  coals  up  to  one 
hundred  tons,  I  informed  him  that  he  was  at  liberty 
to  do  so,  and  expressed  my  gratification  at  finding 
that  he  had  not  been  using  the  extra  period  of  his 
stay  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  more  coals  than 
sufficed  for  his  immediate  wants.  I  also,  in  com- 
municating that  permission  to  the  admiral,  re- 
quested the  latter  to  relieve  Captain  Wood  from 
further  surveillance,  as  I  was  extremely  anxious, 
under  the  circumstances,  to  avoid  wounding  his 
feelings.  Later  in  the  day  he  applied  for,  and  I 
gave  him,  permission  to  remain  twelve  hours 
longer  for  the  purpose  of  shipping  a  new  main- 
mast. He  did  not,  however,  wholly  avail  himself 
of  that  permission;  for  without  waiting  to  step  the 
mast,  he  left  the  harbor  soon  after  midnight,  as 
appears  from  the  inclosed  full  and  satisfactory  re- 
port obligingly  transmitted  to  me  by  the  admiral. 

At  the  close  of  the  second  day  our  new 
mast  was  towed  alongside  and  hoisted  in. 
Immediate  preparations  were  made  for  sea. 
During  the  day  two  or  more  of  the  enemy's 
cruisers  were  reported  off  the  harbor;  indeed, 
one  came  in  near  enough  to  communicate 
with  the  shore.  During  our  stay  we  had  seen 
late  New  York  papers  with  accounts  of  our 
cruise,  and  the  excitement  it  had  caused  on 
the  seaboard.  The  published  reports  of  most 
of  the  prisoners  were  highly  colored  and 
sensational.  We  were  described  in  anything 
but  complimentary  terms.  A  more  blood- 
thirsty or  piratical-looking  crew  never  sailed, 
according  to  some  narratives.  Individually  I 
plead  guilty;  for  three  years  of  rough  work, 
with  no  chance  of  replenishing  my  wardrobe, 
had  left  me  in  the  plight  of  Major  Dalgetty. 
When  I  called  upon  the  admiral  I  had  to 
borrow  a  make-up  from  some  of  the  ward- 
room officers. 

We  noticed  that  a  number  of  vessels  had 
been  sent  in  pursuit.  A  Washington  telegram 
said:  "The  first  information  of  the  depreda- 
tions of  the  Tallahassee  was  received  by  the 
Navy  Department  on  the  12th  instant,  after 
office  hours.  Secretary  Welles  immediately 
ordered  the  following  vessels  in  pursuit; 
namely,  Juniata,  Susquehanna,  Eolus,  Pon- 
toosuc,  Dunbarton,  and  Tristram  Shandy,  on 
the  13th;  the  Moccasin,  Aster,  Yantic,  R.  R. 
Cuyler,  and  Grand  Gulf  on  the  14th;  and  on 
the  15th  the  Dacotah  and  San  Jacinto.  These 
were  all  the  vessels  available  in  the  navy." 

It  began  to  look  as  though  we  would  have 
to  run  the  blockade  again.  To  my  request  to 
Mr.  Wier  for  a  good  pilot,  he  sent  on  board 
Jock  Fleming.    He  was  six  feet  in  height, 


broad,  deep-chested,  and  with  a  stoop.  His 
limbs  were  too  long  for  his  body.  His  head 
was  pitched  well  forward,  and  covered,  as  was 
his  neck,  with  a  thick  stubble  of  grayish  hair. 
His  eyes  were  small  and  bright,  almost  hid 
beneath  overhanging  eyebrows.  His  hands 
were  as  hard,  rough,  and  scaly  as  the  flipper 
of  a  green  turtle.  Bronzed  by  exposure  to 
sixty  seasons  of  storm  and  sunshine,  he 
could  tell  of  many  a  narrow  escape,  carrying 
on  to  keep  offshore  in  a  northeast  snow-storm, 
or  trying  to  hold  on  in  a  howling  nor'wester, 
when  every  drop  of  water  that  came  on  board 
was  congealed  into  ice,  and  soon  the  vessel 
was  little  better  than  an  iceberg,  and  noth- 
ing remained  but  to  run  off  into  the  Gulf 
Stream  to  thaw  out.  He  knew  the  harbor  as 
well  as  the  fish  that  swam  its  waters.  He  was 
honest,  bluff,  and  trusty. 

MacNab's  Island  divides  the  entrance  to 
the  harbor  of  Halifax  into  two  channels. 
The  main,  or  western,  one  is  broad,  deep,  and 
straight,  and  is  the  only  one  used,  except  by 
small  coasters.  The  eastern  is  just  the  re- 
verse, without  buoys  or  lights.  In  looking 
over  the  chart  with  Fleming,  I  asked  him  if 
it  was  not  possible  to  go  out  through  the 
latter  passage,  and  so  avoid  the  enemy  lying 
off  the  mouth  of  the  main  channel.  I  saw 
only  five  or  six  feet  marked  on  the  chart  over 
the  shoalest  spot  at  low  water. 

"How  much  do  you  draw,  cap'?" 

"  Thirteen  feet,  allowing  for  a  little  drag." 

"  There  is  a  good  tide  to-night,  and  water 
enough;  but  you  are  too  long  to  turn  the 
corners." 

"But,  pilot,  with  our  twin-screws,  I  can 
turn  her  around  on  her  center,  as  I  turn  this 
ruler." 

"  Well,  I  never  was  shipmate  with  the  likes 
of  them;  but  if  you  will  steer  her,  I  '11  find  the 
water." 

"Are  you  certain,  pilot,  there  is  water 
enough?  It  would  never  do  to  run  ashore 
at  this  time." 

"  You  sha'n't  touch  anything  but  the  eel- 
grass.    Better  get  ready  about  eleven." 

I  hesitated;  and  divining  from  my  face 
that  I  was  not  satisfied,  he  said  as  he  rose: 

"Don't  be  'feared;  I  '11  take  you  out  all 
right;  you  won't  see  any  of  those  chaps  off 
Chebucto  Head." 

As  he  spoke  he  brought  his  hand  down  on 
my  shoulder  with  a  thud  that  I  felt  in  my 
boots.  His  confidence,  and  my  faith  in  the 
man,  determined  me  to  make  the  attempt. 
Some  friends  and  English  officers  were  on 
board  to  the  last;  and  as  we  hove  up  the 
anchor  and  started  ahead  at  midnight,  they 


416 


THE  CENTURY  MAGAZINE. 


left  us  with  hearty  good  wishes.  The  moon 
was  old  and  waning,  with  dark  clouds  rapidly 
chasing  one  another  across  its  face  from  the 
southward.  Steaming  slowly  out,  only  the 
dark  shores  of  MacNab's  Island  on  one  side 
and  the  mainland  on  the  other  could  be  seen, 
but  whether  a  stone's  throw  or  a  mile  distant 
could  not  be  discovered.  Once  or  twice  Flem- 
ing appeared  lost,  but  it  was  only  for  a  mo- 
ment. At  the  sharp  twists  in  the  channel  I 
sent  a  boat  ahead  with  a  light  to  mark  the 
turns.  At  one  place,  by  the  lead,  there  was 
hardly  room  between  the  keel  and  the  bottom 
for  your  open  hand.  In  an  hour  we  opened 
the  two  lights  on  Devil's  Island,  and  the 
channel  broadened  and  deepened.  Soon  we 
felt  the  pulsating  bosom  of  the  old  Atlantic, 
and  were  safe  outside,  leaving  our  waiting 
friends  miles  to  the  westward.  Fleming 
dropped  his  boat  alongside,  and  with  a 
hearty  shake  of  the  hand,  and  an  earnest 
God-speed,  swung  himself  into  it,  and  was 
soon  lost  in  the  darkness.  He  had  kept  his 
word,  bringing  us  out  without  feeling  the 
bottom— a  real  achievement.  Years  after  I 
often  met  him,  and  there  was  nothing  in  the 
old  man's  life  he  was  so  fond  of  relating  as 
how  he  piloted  the  Tallahassee  through  the 
eastern  passage  by  night. 

The  run  down  the  coast  was  uneventful,  a 
few  unimportant  prizes  being  made.  Many 
vessels  were  spoken,  but  most  were  foreign. 
A  number  were  undoubtedly  American,  but 
to  avoid  capture  had  been  registered  abroad, 
and  were  sailing  under  other  flags.  I  had  in- 
tended going  to  Bermuda  for  another  supply 
of  coal,  but  the  prevalence  of  yellow  fever 
there  prevented.  As  we  approached  Wilming- 
ton we  were  reminded,  by  sighting  one  or  two 
steamers,  that  we  were  again  in  troubled 
waters.  The  first  one  we  made  out  was 
a  long,  low,  paddle-wheel  boat,  evidently  a 
captured  blockade-runner.  By  changing  our 
course  we  soon  parted  company  with  her. 
Later  in  the  day  another  was  dodged.  In 
running  the  blockade,  if  with  good  observa- 
tion we  were  certain  of  our  position,  the  best 
plan  was  to  run  direct  for  the  Mound  or  har- 
bor. If  not,  then  better  strike  the  shore  to 
the  northward  (if  running  for  New  Inlet), 
and  follow  it  down.  As  the  soundings  are 
very  regular,  this  could  be  easily  done.  The 
weather  was  hazy  and  smoky — so  much  so 
that  we  could  not  depend  on  our  sights.  I 
therefore  ran  in  toward  Masonboro  Inlet, 
about  thirty  miles  to  the  northward  of  Fort 
Fisher,  making  the  land  just  at  dark;  then 
ran  into  five  fathoms,  and  followed  the  shore, 
just  outside  the  breakers  curling  up  on  the 


beach.  A  sharp  lookout  was  kept,  and  the 
crew  were  at  their  quarters.  The  fires  were 
freshened,  and  watched  carefully  to  avoid 
smoking  or  flaming.  The  chief  engineer  had 
orders  to  get  all  he  could  out  of  her.  I  knew 
that  one  of  the  blockaders,  if  not  more,  would 
be  found  close  to  the  shore;  and  soon  one  was 
made  out  ahead.  I  tried  to  pass  inside,  but 
found  it  impossible;  the  enemy's  ship  was  al- 
most in  the  surf.  A  vigilant  officer  certainly 
was  in  command.  Our  helm  was  put  a-star- 
board,  and  we  sheered  out.  At  the  same  time 
the  enemy  signaled  by  flash-lights.  I  replied 
by  burning  a  blue  light.  The  signal  was  re- 
peated by  the  first  and  by  two  others.  I  re- 
plied again  by  a  false  fire.  Some  valuable 
minutes  were  gained,  but  the  enemy  now 
appeared  satisfied  as  to  our  character,  and 
opened  fire.  We  replied  with  all  our  battery, 
directing  our  guns  by  the  flash  of  theirs. 
This  was  entirely  unexpected,  for  they  ceased 
firing,  and  began  to  signal  again.  Our  reply 
was  another  broadside,  to  which  they  were  not 
slow  in  responding.  The  Tallahassee  was  now 
heading  the  bar,  going  fourteen  knots.  Two 
or  three  others  joined  in  the  firing,  and  for 
some  time  it  was  very  lively.  But,  like  most 
night  engagements,  it  was  random  firing.  We 
were  not  struck,  and  the  enemy  were  in  more 
danger  from  their  own  fire  than  from  mine. 

Soon  the  Mound  loomed  up  ahead,  a  wel- 
come sight.  Our  signal-officer  made  our  num- 
ber to  Fort  Fisher,  and  it  was  answered.  A 
few  minutes  later  the  range  lights  were  set, 
and  by  their  guidance  we  safely  crossed  the 
bar  and  anchored  close  under  the  fort.  The 
next  morning,  at  daybreak,  the  blockading 
fleet  was  seen  lying  about  five  miles  off,  all 
in  a  bunch,  evidently  discussing  the  events 
of  the  night.  At  sunrise  we  hoisted  the  Con- 
federate flag  at  the  fore,  and  saluted  with 
twenty-one  guns.  The  fort  returned  a  like 
number.  During  the  day  we  crossed  the  rip, 
and  proceeded  up  the  river  to  Wilmington. 
So  ended  an  exciting  and  eventful  cruise  of 
a  month.  In  this  time  we  had  made  thirty- 
five  captures,  about  half  of  which  were 
square-rigged  vessels. 

The  Tallahassee,  it  is  true,  was  built  in 
England,  but  not  for  a  blockade-runner.  She 
was  fitted  out  and  equipped  in  a  Confederate 
port.  Of  her  armament,  two  guns  were  cast 
in  Richmond,  and  one  was  captured.  Her 
officers  and  crew  were  all  in  the  sendee  pre- 
vious to  joining  her.  She  sailed  from  a  Con- 
federate port,  and  returned  to  one.  She  was 
regularly  commissioned  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, and  was  as  legally  a  cruiser  as  was 
General  Lee's  force  an  army.  Her  status  was 


DRAWN    BY  J.  O. 


ENGRAVEO  8V  T.  SCHUSSLER. 


THE  "TALLAHASSEE"  BURNING  THE  PACKET  "ADRIATIC."  (SEE  PAGE  412.) 


entirely  different  from  that  of  cruisers  fitted 
out  in  England.  The  Geneva  award  was  in- 
tended ,to  cover  only  losses  arising  from  the 
cruises  of  the  Alabama,  Shenandoah,  etc., 
vessels  fitted  out  or  sailing  from  English 
ports,  or  which,  like  these,  had  never  visited 
a  Confederate  port;  and  its  recipients  were 
at  first  wisely  confined  to  those  who  could 
establish  their  losses  from  these  vessels. 
But  after  paying  all  these,  half  of  the  £3,- 
000,000  sterling  still  remained.  After  some 
years  it  was  determined  to  divide  it  among 
the  sufferers  by  all  the  cruisers.  The  claims 
presented  to  the  court  for  the  disposal  of 
the  award  were  of  the  most  extraordinary 
character.  I  received  from  different  attorneys 
letters  asking  for  information  upon  points  in 
regard  to  the  Tallahassee's  cruise,  and  inclos- 
ing schedules  of  losses  of  different  parties.  I 
have  no  idea  how  the  court  adjusted  these 
losses;  but  I  do  know  that  if  some  of  the 


claimants  were  paid  ten  per  cent,  of  their  de- 
mands, they  were  amply  reimbursed  for  all 
losses.  One  captain  of  a  small  vessel  put  in 
a  claim  for  $200  for  a  feather-bed,  a  hair-mat- 
tress, and  a  pair  of  blankets,  and  for  nearly 
$800  worth  of  clothing!  Another  exhibit,  of 
a  mate,  for  losses  called  for  $26  for  a  feather- 
bed. Another  claimant  had  sixteen  different 
suits  of  clothing,  besides  miscellaneous  arti- 
cles of  wearing-apparel  of  all  kinds— enough 
to  furnish  a  Chatham-street  shop.  Nothing- 
was  left  out:  razor,  brush,  and  cup,  $3.50; 
shoe-brush  and  blacking,  $1.03.  Of  course 
every  one,  from  the  captain  to  the  cook,  had 
a  watch  and  chain,  generally  gold,  valued 
at  from  $100  to  $250,  never  less.  And  these 
exhibits  were  all  sworn  to! 

The  Tallahassee  made  another  short  cruise, 
under  Lieutenant  Ward,  and  then  returned 
to  England.  Later  she  was  sold  to  the  Japa- 
nese government  as  a  cruiser. 


II.     THE   EVENTFUL   CRUISE   OF   THE   "  FLORIDA." 
BY   G.  TERRY   SINCLAIR,  FORMERLY   MIDSHIPMAN,  C.  S.  N. 

AFTER  the  evacuation  of  Norfolk,  Vir-  report  to  Commander  North  or  Lieutenant 

ix  ginia,  in  May,  1862,  our  forces  retreated  Maffitt  for  duty.   The  following  evening,  in 

to  Richmond;  and   soon  after  my  arrival  company  with   several   officers,  I   left  for 

there  I  was  ordered  to  proceed  to  Charles-  Charleston;  but  on  arriving  and  taking  a 

ton,  and  thence  to  Nassau,  where  I  was  to  survey  of  the  blockading  fleet  off  the  bar, 
Vol.  LVI.-53.  m 


418 


THE   CENTURY   MAGAZINE. 


tended  for  use  against  the  United 
States.  After  a  long  and  tedious 
trial,  the  Oreto  was  released  in 
August,  and,  in  charge  of  her 
English  captain,  left  the  harbor. 
Going  out  in  her  as  passengers 
were  Captain  Maffitt,  Lieutenants 
J.  K.  Stribling  and  J.  0.  Brad- 
ford, Paymaster  Read,  two  engi- 
neers, Midshipmen  R.  S.  Floyd, 
George  D.  Bryan,  and  myself.  At 
one  of  the  small  uninhabited  islands 
back  of  Nassau  we  were  met  by  a 
schooner,  which  had  on  board  our 
armament  and  stores,  with  a  few 
men,  whom  we  hoped  to  induce  to 
join  us  after  our  object  was  made 
known.  Captain  Maffitt  now  read 
his  commission,  hoisted  the  Con- 
federate flag,  and  changed  the  ves- 
sel's name  to  Florida.  A  short 
speech  having  been  made  to  the 
men,  setting  forth  the  advantages 
of  enlistment  with  us,  they  were 
told  they  could  either  join  or  re- 
turn in  the  schooner.  About  twenty 
took  the  former  course. 

We  were  nearly  a  week  taking 
in  stores  and  mounting  guns.  In 
that  time  one  of  our  men  was  taken 
down  with  yellow  fever,  and  died 
which  were  plainly  visible  from  the  city,  in  a  few  days.  With  a  boat's  crew  I  car- 
concluded  it  was  easier  to  issue  such  orders  ried  the  body  ashore  the  same  night,  and 
than  to  execute  them.  On  the  evening  of  prepared  the  grave  in  time  for  Lieutenant 
June  3  I  went  on  board  the  Cecile,  a  small  Stribling,  who  came  on  shore  in  the  morn- 
river  steamer,  painted  lead-color  to  render  ing  and  read  the  burial  service— a  sad  duty 
her  difficult  of  observation  at  night.   About    which  we  performed  for  poor  Stribling  also 


ENGRAVED  BV  E.  CLEMENT. 


JOHN   TAYLOR   WOOD,   COLONEL   C.  S.  A.,   COMMANDER  OP   THE 
"TALLAHASSEE."     (FROM  AN    OIL  PORTRAIT   BY  GALT.) 


midnight,  as  the  moon  settled  behind  the 
hills,  we  slowly  steamed  out  of  the  harbor, 
and  were  soon  in  the  midst  of  the  enemy, 
whose  dark  hulls  were  plainly  visible  to  us. 
We  crept  slowly  by,  our  wheels  barely  re- 
volving, lest  the  sound  should  reach  the  ears 
of  the  enemy.  Knowing  well  that  discovery 
meant  a  prison  for  an  indefinite  time,  each 
minute  seemed  an  hour.  To  us,  who  so 
plainly  saw  the  dark  hulls  of  the  enemy,  it 
barely  seemed  possible  that  they  did  not  also 
see  or  hear  us;  but  they  did  not.  Before 
morning  we  encountered  a  heavy  gale  from 
the  southward  and  eastward,  and  for  thirty- 
six  hours  had  little  hope  of  reaching  Nassau; 
but  we  arrived  safely  on  the  5th,  when  I  re- 


within  a  month. 

We  now  started  for  Cardenas,  at  which 
place  we  buried  Paymaster  Read,  one  of  our 
engineers,  and  three  of  our  men,  all  of  whom 
died  of  yellow  fever.  At  this  point  our  cap- 
tain was  seized  with  the  fever.  He  at  once 
ordered  the  ship  to  be  run  into  Mobile, 
touching  at  Havana  on  our  way,  where  we 
obtained  the  services  of  an  experienced 
physician,  Dr.  Bennett  of  Georgia,  who 
agreed  to  share  our  dangers. 

About  half-past  four  on  the  evening  of 
September  5  we  came  in  sight  of  the  block- 
ading fleet  off  Mobile,  consisting  of  the 
Oneida,  Winona,  and  a  small  sailing-craft. 
Captain  Maffitt,  who  was  at  this  time  scarcely 


ported  for  duty  to  Lieutenant-Commanding   able  to  stand  on  deck,  at  once  decided  that, 


J.  N.  Maffitt. 

At  Nassau  I  found  the  Oreto  (afterward 
the  Florida),  which  had  been  seized  by  the 
British  authorities  on  suspicion  of  being  the 
property  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  in- 


in  the  absence  of  a  pilot,  he  would  take  day- 
light rather  than  darkness  for  a  dash  in.  In 
order  to  make  the  enemy  hold  his  fire  as  long 
as  possible,  the  English  ensign  was  hoisted 
on  our  ship,  and  with  all  speed  we  made  a 


CONFEDERATE  COMMERCE-DESTROYERS. 


419 


dash  for  the  bar,  the  Oneida  and  Winona 
coming  out  to  meet  us  as  we  approached, 
the  latter  coming  up  on  our  starboard  side, 
and  the  former  on  our  port,  at  the  same  time 
hailing,  and  ordering  us  to  heave  to,  which 
we  promised  to  do,  but  "forgot  it."  There 
was  now  but  a  short  lapse  of  time  between  a 
blank  cartridge  and  broadsides  fired  into  us, 
at  a  distance  of  only  about  one  hundred 
yards.  As  our  English  flag  was  no  longer  a 
protection,  we  lowered  it,  and  in  its  place 
hoisted  our  own  colors.  According  to  the  re- 
port of  Commander  Preble  of  the  Oneida,  we 
were  under  this  terrible  fire  from  6:03  till 
6: 22,  when  we  crossed  the  bar  and  ran  under 
the  guns  of  Fort  Morgan.  The  ravages  of 
the  fever  had  prevented  our  doing  more 
than  mounting  our  guns  and  securing  them 
for  sea;  otherwise  we  should  have  returned 
the  enemy's  fire.  We  received  one  11-inch 
shell  opposite  our  port  gangway,  near  the 
water-line.  It  passed  through  our  coal- 
bunker,  painfully  wounding  one  man  and 
beheading  another,  thence  to  the  berth  deck, 
where  our  men  had  previously  been  ordered 
as  a  place  of  safety.  Fortunately  this  shell 
did  not  explode,  the  fuse  having  been 
knocked  out,  probably  by  contact  with  the 
ship's  side.  Another  shell  entered  the  cabin, 
and,  passing  through  the  pantry,  raised 
havoc  with  the  crockery.  The  ship  to  the  day 
of  her  destruction  bore  the  marks  of  upward 
of  fourteen  hundred  shrapnel  balls.  Our 
additional  casualties  were  two  men  slightly 
wounded.   As  we  came  to  anchor  under  the 


guns  of  Fort  Morgan,  cheer  upon  cheer  from 
the  soldiers  on  the  ramparts  greeted  us.  We 
remained  in  Mobile  Bay,  repairing  damages, 
putting  ship  and  battery  in  order,  and  select- 
ing and  drilling  our  crew,  until  January, 
when  we  considered  ourselves  ready  for  an- 
other dash. 

The  Florida  was  now  officered  in  full,  and 
as  well  equipped  as  it  was  possible  for  a  ship 
to  be  with  our  limited  resources.  She  was 
barkentine-rigged,  700  tons,  192  feet  in  length, 
16  feet  beam,  and  drew  12j  feet.  Her  speed 
under  steam  alone,  in  smooth  water,  was 
about  10f  knots.  She  had  two  funnels,  work- 
ing upon  hinges,  one  lowering  forward,  the 
other  aft.  We  made  good  use  of  this  ar- 
rangement by  appearing,  and  being  reported 
by  vessels,  sometimes  as  a  steamer  with  two 
funnels,  then  as  with  one,  and  at  other  times 
as  a  sailing-vessel.  Our  battery  consisted  of 
six  broadside  guns,  formerly  smooth-bore 
32-pounders,  but  now  rifled  and  carrying  a 
68-pound  conical  shell;  in  addition  to  these, 
we  carried  two  pivot-guns,  110-pounders. 
This  arrangement  enabled  us  to  fight  five 
guns  on  a  side.  Our  officers  were  now  Com- 
mander J.  N.  Maffitt;  Lieutenants  S.  W. 
Averett,  J.  L.  Hoole,  C.  W.  Read,  and  S.  G. 
Stone ;  Chief  Engineer  W.  S.  Thompson ;  Sur- 
geons F.  Garrettson  and  J.  D.  Grafton;  Mid- 
shipmen R.  S.  Floyd,  George  D.  Bryan,  James 
H.  Dyke,  and  myself  (the  first  two  were  after- 
ward made  lieutenants);  Master's  Mates  T. 
T.  Hunter  and  L.  Vogel;  and  a  crew  of  about 
one  hundred  men. 


DRAWN  BY  SCHELL.  A  HOGAN,  FROM  / 


SKETCH    f 

THE    ' 


!•   REAR-ADMIRAL   HENRV   WALKE. 

FLORIDA"   RUNNING   THE   BLOCKADE  OFF   MOBILE   BAY. 


420 


THE   CENTURY    MAGAZINE. 


The  fleet  off  Mobile  now  consisted  of  eleven 
vessels;  but  notwithstanding  this  force,  on 
the  night  of  January  13, 1863,  Captain  Maffitt 
determined  to  take  advantage  of  the  heavy 
gale  which  was  blowing,  and  make  the  at- 
tempt to  get  out;  but  we  were  compelled  to 
turn  back,  owing  to  some  slight  accident  to 
our  machinery,  which  occurred  just  before 


everything  ready  for  making  sail  at  a  mo- 
ment's notice.  Now  came  the  words,  "Sail 
right  ahead,  sir!"  "Starboard  your  helm!" 
was  the  reply,  and  slowly  we  passed  within  a 
few  hundred  yards  of  a  black,  lowering  object. 
Scarcely  was  she  passed  when  again  came 
the  words,  "Sail  right  ahead,  sir!"  and  now 
followed  by  "Port  your  helm!"    Thus  we 


THE   "FLORIDA"   CHASING   THE   SHIP   "STAR   OF  PEACE." 


reaching  the  bar.  This  trip,  however,  was 
not  without  its  lesson,  as  we  found  many 
phantom  ships  were  reported  by  the  crew. 
We  regulated  this,  on  the  next  trial,  by 
placing  officers  about  twenty  feet  apart, 
forming  a  continuous  line  aft  to  the  wheel, 
where  stood  the  captain  and  the  pilot.  The 
ship  had  previously  been  whitewashed. 

The  gale  continuing,  and  the  night  being 
very  dark,  we  again  started  early  on  the  fol- 
lowing night;  but  before  we  reached  the  bar 
the  pilot  informed  us  it  was  too  dark  for  him 
to  get  his  bearings,  and  we  were  again  com- 
pelled to  turn  back,  but  were  all  ordered  to 
lie  down  and  rest  in  our  clothes.  Shortly  be- 
fore two  o'clock,  a  few  stars  having  made 
their  appearance,  the  pilot  announced  his 
readiness  to  take  the  ship  to  sea.  We  called 
"All  hands  up  anchor!"  and  by  two  o'clock 
were  again  heading  for  the  bar.  In  the  mean- 
time we  had  men  stationed  aloft,  with  gaskets 
cast  off,  and  the  bunt  of  the  topsails  in  hand, 


worked  our  way  out  until  five  had  been 
sighted,  the  last  two  lying  one  on  each 
beam.  At  this  critical  moment  the  engineer 
reported  that  the  coke,  which  was  being 
burned  to  avoid  making  smoke,  was  all 
gone,  and  unless  he  put  coal  on  at  once  he 
could  not  answer  for  the  consequences.  The 
order  was  at  once  given  to  put  coal  on;  and 
as  soon  as  the  first  shovel  entered  the  furnace 
a  volume  of  thick  black  smoke  shot  straight 
across  the  deck  of  the  blockader  on  our 
starboard  beam,  and  in  an  instant  a  bright 
light  flashed  from  him,  answered  by  all  the 
others,  and  we  knew  we  were  discovered. 

Then  came  the  command,  "Let  fall  and 
sheet  home  your  topsails!"  There  was  the 
rattle  of  chains,  and  the  tramping  of  feet,  as 
all  speed  was  made  to  get  sail  on  our  ship. 
We  soon  had  our  little  craft  under  fore-  and 
maintopsail,  spanker,  and  jib,  with  fore- 
and  mainsails;  then  men  were  sent  aloft, 
and  topgallant-yards  crossed,  and  topgallant- 


CONFEDERATE   COMMERCE-DESTROYERS. 


421 


sails  set,  and  also  lower  and  topmast  stud- 
dingsails. 

With  this  heavy  pressure  of  canvas  in 
such  a  gale,  our  little  craft  seemed  to  stand 
for  a  moment  and  tremble ;  but  gradually  she 
rose,  and  in  a  few  seconds  was  off  like  a  deer. 
We  soon  found  that  only  one  vessel  was  fol- 
lowing us,  and  she  rapidly  falling  astern, 
we  secured  our  battery.  After  all  sail  was 
made,  the  Tog  was  hove,  and  showed  a  speed 
of  13.6  knots;  and  this  was  the  first  time  we 
had  ever  tested  our  speed  under  steam  and 
sail.  Our  pursuer  was  soon  out  of  sight;  but 
just  before  day  we  passed  a  sloop  of  war, 
hove  to  under  close-reefed  topsails,  which 
we  believed  at  the  time  to  be  the  United 
States  steamer  Richmond.  If  so,  we  made 
a  narrow  escape,  as  she  had  greater  speed, 
and  was  in  every  way  a  superior  ship  to  ours. 
But  we  were  not  stopped,  although  we  passed 
within  half  a  mile  of  her.  As  soon  as  we 
passed  out  of  sight  of  our  suspicious-look- 
ing friend,  we  altered  our  course,  steering 
for  the  Yucatan  Banks.  Daylight  showed 
us  one  of  the  blockaders  still  in  pursuit,  but 
only  as  a  speck  from  our  topgallant-yards; 
but  the  carrying  away  of  ourmaintopsail-yard 
about  this  time  forced  us  to  shorten  sail, 
and  before  we  could  send  another  yard  aloft, 
and  make  sail  again,  our  pursuer  was  well  in 
sight  from  our  deck.  When  all  was  in  order 
again,  however,  he  soon  passed  out  of  sight. 

On  the  17th  we  captured  our  first  prize, 
the  brig  Estelle,  off  the  coast  of  Cuba;  and 
about  eight  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  21st 
ran  into  Havana,  came  to  anchor,  and, 
ordering  the  drum  and  fife  on  deck,  intro- 
duced ourselves  to  the  tunes  "  Bonnie  Blue 
Flag "  and  "  Dixie."  In  a  few  minutes  our 
deck  was  crowded  with  visitors.  We  left 
Havana  next  day,  steaming  along  the 
coast  to  the  eastward,  and  before  sundown 
made  our  second  capture.  Our  third  prize 
saved  us  the  trouble  of  a  chase,  running  into 
our  arms  while  we  were  making  ready  to  de- 
stroy number  two.  As  darkness  approached 
we  noticed  the  smoke  of  two  steamers  com- 
ing from  the  direction  of  Havana.  Think- 
ing they  might  be  the  enemy's  cruisers,  we 
hastily  fired  both  prizes,  got  clear  of  the 
light,  and  hid  under  the  shadow  of  the  land; 
and  from  our  position  saw  the  two  steamers 
stop,  make  a  short  survey,  and  then  dart  off. 

We  now  shaped  our  course  for  the  Ameri- 
can coast,  but  found  the  weather  too  cold 
and  boisterous  to  admit  of  boarding  vessels, 
so  we  turned  our  nose  to  the  southward  again, 
touching  at  Barbados  on  our  way  to  the 
equator,  where  we  proposed  remaining  in  the 


track  of  homeward-bound  ships.  Many  ves- 
sels were  captured  on  our  way  down;  but  on 
the  12th  of  February  our  most  valuable  cap- 
ture was  made— perhaps  the  most  valuable 
taken  by  a  Confederate  cruiser  during  the 
war.  We  sighted  this  vessel  about  eight  in 
the  evening,  but  not  until  ten  o'clock  did  we 
get  near  enough  to  give  her  a  shot  from  our 
bow  pivot,  and  even  this  fell  considerably 
short.  She  rounded  to,  however;  and  as 
she  lay  thus,  with  black  hull,  gilt  streak, 
scraped  and  varnished  masts,  and  snow-white 
sails,  there  was  a  general  exclamation  of  ad- 
miration, coupled  with  regret  that  such  a 
thing  of  beauty  must  be  destroyed.  She 
proved  to  be  the  clipper-ship  Jacob  Bell,  from 
Foochow,  bound  to  New  York  with  a  cargo, 
mostly  tea,  valued  at  upward  of  a  million 
dollars.  On  March  27  we  captured  the  bark 
Lapwing,  with  a  fine  assorted  cargo  of  Yankee 
notions,  canned  meats,  fruits,  vegetables,  etc. 
The  most  valuable  part  of  the  cargo  to  us  was 
several  hundred  tons  of  coal,  which  we  deter- 
mined to  hold;  and  with  this  idea  in  view, 
Lieutenant  Floyd,  myself,  and  seven  men, 
with  arms  and  a  12-pound  howitzer,  were 
transferred  to  her.  A  quantity  of  the  canned 
goods  was  sent  to  the  Florida  for  the  use  of 
the  officers  and  men. 

We  now  made  a  place  of  rendezvous  with 
the  Florida,  where  we  could  meet  a  month 
later,  which  we  did,  coaling  ship,  and  start- 
ing on  a  fresh  cruise,  having  previously  ar- 
ranged another  meeting.  Owing  to  calms 
and  currents,  we  were  unable  to  reach  the 
point  of  meeting  on  time,  and  thus  we  parted, 
not  to  meet  again  for  some  time.  During 
these  two  cruises  Lieutenant  Floyd  and  I 
took  alternate  nights  for  duty  on  deck,  lying 
down  near  the  man  at  the  wheel,  who  would 
call  us  when  a  squall  was  seen  coming  up. 
These  blows,  although  short,  are  very  severe 
in  the  calm  belt  while  they  last;  so  we  were 
compelled  to  rouse  the  men  and  shorten  sail 
until  they  passed  over,  when  we  would  lie 
down  again.  This  would  sometimes  be  the 
case  two  or  three  times  during  the  night. 

With  the  Lapwing  we  captured  and  bonded 
a  ship  by  a  little  ruse  and  impudence.  Hav- 
ing first  sawed  a  spar  to  the  requisite  length 
to  represent  a  long  gun,  we  painted  and  then 
mounted  it  on  two  wheels  taken  from  a 
family  carriage  found  on  board.  With  this 
trained  on  the  enemy,  but  not  too  conspicu- 
ously in  view,  we  hove  him  to  with  a  shot 
from  our  12-pounder.  With  four  well-armed 
men  I  was  sent  on  board,  and  brought  the 
captain,  with  his  papers,  back  with  me,  he 
coming  in  his  own  boat.    It  was  not  until 


422 


THE   CENTURY   MAGAZINE. 


intention  to  make  the  people 
on  shore  believe  we  had  ac- 
cidentally taken  fire;  and  with 
this  idea  in  view,  we  had  our 
men  dressed  merchant-sailor 
style,  we  assuming  the  same 
rig  ourselves.  But  when 
about  two  miles  from  the 
town,  we  were  met  by  two 
negroes  in  a  canoe,  who  sailed 
close  alongside,  and  asked  us 
where  the  Florida  was,  silen- 
cing us,  when  we  expressed 
ignorance  of  the  existence 
of  any  such  vessel,  by  inform- 
ing us  that  they  had  visited 
the  ship  when  in  Barbados, 
and  remembered  our  faces. 
Seeing  that  disguise  was  now 
useless,  we  had  the  men  put 
on  their  best  blue  uniforms, 
while  we  donned  our  nattiest 
gray,  and,  with  a  small  Con- 
federate flag  in  the  stern, 
pulled  for  the  dock  in  true 
man-of-war  style.  At  the 
landing  we  were  met  by  a 
yelling  crowd  of  not  less  than 
five  thousand,  mostly  blacks. 
So  great  was  the  crush  that 
Floyd  was  borne  to  the  cus- 
tom-house over  the  heads  of 
the  crowd;  and  making  his 
exit  by  a  rear  door,  paid 
his  respects  to  the  governor, 
and  obtained  permission  to 
land.  We  were  cordially  re- 
ceived, many  courtesies  being 
the  captain  came  on  board  our  ship  that  he  extended  by  merchants  and  others.  The 
discovered  our  weakness ;  but  it  was  then  too    day  after  our  arrival— Sunday— a  gentleman 


CAPTAIN   J.  N.  MAFFITT,   COMMANDER   OF  THE      FLORIDA. 


late,  and  there  was  nothing  else  to  be  done, 
so  he  bonded  his  ship  to  us,  returning  in  his 
own  boat. 

Failing  to  meet  the  Florida,  we  shaped  our 
course  for  Barbados,  arriving  about  3  A.  M., 
May  30.  Heaving  to,  we  waited  for  day- 
light, when  we  found  ourselves  off  the  center 
of  the  island  and  about  seven  miles  from  land. 
We  launched  the  boat,  putting  the  nautical 
instruments,  charts,  provisions,  water,  and 
clothes  in  her;  and  about  seven  o'clock,  all 
being  ready,  fired  the  Lapwing  fore  and  aft, 
and  started  for  the  southern  point  of  the 
island,  and  thence  up  the  western  side,  where 


stopped  his  carriage  while  on  his  way  to  church, 
and  kindly  invited  us  to  join  him;  but  we  were 
compelled  to  decline.  We,  however,  accepted 
an  invitation  to  dine  with  him  at  his  country- 
seat.  His  carriage  called  for  us  later  at  the 
hotel.  Arriving  at  his  house,  we  had  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  several  of  the  English 
officers  attached  to  the  garrison.  After  din- 
ner we  had  a  fine  view  of  the  ocean  and  har- 
bor; and  while  thus  pleasantly  engaged  saw 
the  United  States  steamer  Vanderbilt,  the 
presence  of  which  cut  our  visit  short.  She, 
however,  after  communicatingwith  the  Amer- 
ican consul,  went  to  sea;  but  our  friends  in- 


the  harbor  is  located.   A  strong  breeze  soon  formed  us  that  she  was  not  far  away  when 

set  in,  blowing  us  toward  the  breakers,  and  for  night  came.  We,  however,  got  away  safely  a 

several  hours  it  looked  as  if  we  would  be  on  few  nights  afterward,  taking  passage  in  an 

them  before  we  could  clear  the  point;  in  fact,  English  bark,  and  arriving  at  Queenstown 

it  was  noon  before  we  did  so.  It  was  now  our  about  the  middle  of  July. 


CONFEDERATE    COMMERCE-DESTROYERS. 


423 


Shortly  after  our  arrival  the  Florida  put 
into  Brest,  France,  for  needed  repairs,  and 
to  fill  up  her  depleted  complement  of  officers. 
Besides  Lieutenant  Floyd  and  myself,  Lieu- 
tenant Read  and  one  of  the  engineers  had 
been  sent  off  on  another  prize,  the  Tacony. 
The  Tacony  was  abandoned  in  the  harbor  of 
Portland,  Maine,  by  Lieutenant  Read,  who 
had  previously  captured  the  revenue  cutter 
Caleb  Cushing,  in  which  he  was  attempting 
to  escape  when  captured  by  a  force  hastily 
organized  for  pursuit.  Our  assistant  surgeon, 
Grafton,  was  drowned  in  the  surf  while  at- 
tempting to  land  at  a  small  deserted  island 
called  Las  Rocas;  and  the  health  of  Lieuten- 
ants Averett  and  Hoole  was  such  as  to  pre- 
vent them  from  continuing  longer  with  us. 
At  Brest  our  greatest  misfortune  befell  us. 
Captain  Maffitt  had  permitted  all  his  officers 
to  go  up  to  Paris  on  a  short  leave,  when  a 
report  was  started  among  our  crew  that  only 
the  officers  would  be  allowed  to  go  ashore 
during  our  stay  in  port.  This  caused  a 
mutiny,  in  which  all  the  crew  engaged  ex- 
cept about  thirty.  These  we  retained,  but 
the  others  were  forced  to  leave,  notwithstand- 
ing their  repentance  when  they  found  they 
had  been  deceived. 

The  French  government  extended  us 
every  courtesy,  granting  us  the  use  of  their 
dry-dock,  where  we  gave  the  ship's  bottom 
a  thorough  overhauling.  As  usual,  a  protest 
was  entered  against  our  being  permitted  to 
make  repairs.  The  American  minister  took 
the  ground  that  repairs  to  our  machinery 
could  not  be  regarded  as  "  necessary  repairs," 
giving  as  a  reason  the  fact  that  the  Florida 
captured  as  many,  if  not  more,  prizes  under 
sail  than  under  steam.  To  this  Napoleon  re- 
plied : "  Because  a  duck  can  swim  is  no  reason 
why  his  wings  should  be  cut." 

During  our  cruise  on  the  Lapwing  the 
Florida  made  a  visit  to  Bermuda;  and  when 
Captain  Maffitt  called  on  the  governor,  who 
was  an  admiral  in  the  English  navy,  the 
latter  in  a  joking  way  expressed  surprise 
that  an  ex-officer  of  the  American  navy 
should  be  guilty  of  a  breach  of  etiquette  in 
entering  the  harbor  without  saluting  the 
English  flag.  To  this  Captain  Maffitt  replied 
that  he  could  not  do  otherwise,  as  his  salute 
would  not  be  returned.  The  governor  replied 
that  he  (Captain  Maffitt)  could  not  tell  unless 
he  tried.  This  was  hint  enough  for  Captain 
Maffitt,  who  returned  to  his  ship,  went  to 
quarters,  and  hoisting  the  English  ensign  at 
his  masthead,  saluted  it;  to  which  the  fort 
replied.  This,  I  think,  is  the  only  instance 
in  which  the  Confederate  flag  was  saluted 


by  a  foreign  nation;  but  it  caused  the  gov- 
ernor's recall. 

It  was  not  until  February,  1864,  that  we 
were  thoroughly  ready  for  sea  again,  and  left 
Brest.  During  nearly  all  this  time  the  United 
States  steamer  Kearsarge  was  in  the  harbor 
with  us.  Our  agents  in  London  succeeded  in 
getting  about  sixty  men  for  us,  who  were  en- 
listed for  secret  service,  and  were  not  aware 
of  their  destination  until  we  dropped  down 
to  the  lower  harbor,  when  they  were  brought 
on  board  at  night,  and  the  next  day  they  had 
matters  explained  to  them.  Nearly  all  joined 
us,  and  we  now  had  a  crew  of  about  ninety 
men.  The  rest  of  our  complement,  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  men,  was  afterward  drawn 
from  the  foreigners  found  on  prizes.  Our 
officers  were  now  Commander  Charles  M. 
Morris,  who  succeeded  Captain  Maffitt;  Lieu- 
tenants T.  K.  Porter,  S.  G.  Stone,  Samuel 
Barron,  Jr.,  R.  S.  Floyd,  and  George  D. 
Bryan;  Surgeon  Thomas  J.  Charlton;  As- 
sistant Surgeon  Thomas  Emory;  Paymaster 
Richard  Taylor;  Chief  Engineer  W.  S. 
Thompson,  and  two  assistants;  Midshipmen 
William  B.  Sinclair,  Jr.,  James  H.  Dyke, 
and  myself;  and  Master's  Mate  Thomas  T. 
Hunter,  Jr. 

After  leaving  Brest,  we  continued  the  work 
of  destruction  until  we  were  off  the  island  of 
Bermuda,  where  an  English  man-of-war  came 
out  to  meet  and  invite  us  in.  As  she  passed, 
her  flag  was  dipped,  her  officers  at  the  same 
time  raising  their  hats  in  salute.  Such  un- 
usual compliments  as  these,  and  from  such 
a  source,  had  their  effect  upon  our  new  re- 
cruits, who  had  seen  enough  of  man-of-war 
life  to  know  we  had  been  specially  honored. 
From  Bermuda  we  returned  to  our  old  cruis- 
ing-ground  near  the  equator.  American  ves- 
sels were  growing  scarcer  every  day,  and  at 
times  weeks  would  pass  without  our  crew 
making  a  capture.  One  of  our  prizes,  the 
Star  of  Peace,  had  a  cargo  of  saltpeter.  We 
fired  her  just  before  dark,  and  when  upward 
of  fifty  miles  away  could  see  the  glare  in  the 
heavens.  At  times  a  column  of  flame  would 
shoot  high  in  the  air,  as  if  from  some  Vesu- 
vius. 

Another  of  our  captures,  a  vessel  from  the 
East  Indies,  contained  a  rare  character  in  an 
old  lady,  who,  we  were  told,  was  a  mission- 
ary on  her  return  home  for  a  vacation.  As 
usual,  Captain  Morris  gave  this  lady  one  of 
the  state-rooms  in  his  cabin ;  but  it  was  not 
long  before  she  had  the  entire  cabin,  and  I 
think,  had  she  stayed  much  longer,  would 
have  been  captain.  She  was  intensely  Union, 
and  had  little  use  for  "  rebels,"  nor  did  she 


.  O.  DAVIDSON. 


T.  SCHUSSLER. 


THE      WACHUSETT      RAMMING   THE      FLORIDA. 


hesitate  to  tell  us  so.  We  got  in  the  habit 
of  watching  for  her  head,  as  it  came  up  out 
of  the  cabin  hatch,  when  there  would  be  a 
general  scamper;  but  the  poor  officer  of  the 
deck  was  compelled  to  stand  and  take  her 
tongue-lashing.  The  old  lady  usually  prom- 
enaded the  deck  with  a  green-cotton  um- 
brella raised ;  and  on  one  occasion  one  of  the 
retreating  ones  returned  and  found  that 
Lieutenant  Stone,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
deck,  had  gone  into  the  rigging,  where  he 
remained,  looking  very  much  like  a  cat  up  a 
tree,  with  a  dog  watching  him. 

Turning  out,  one  morning,  and  coming  on 
deck,  I  saw  three  burning  vessels  around  us, 
and  our  decks  crowded  with  the  crews  and 
their  luggage;  and  we,  of  course,  remained 
thus  lumbered  until  a  foreigner  was  found, 
who  was  always  our  outlet  for  prisoners. 
About  noon  on  July  10  we  sighted  a  steamer 
between  us  and  the  land,  and  standing  to  the 
southward  and  eastward.  We  hoisted  the 
English  flag,  and  altered  our  course  so  as  to 
intercept  her.  Shortly  before  one  o'clock, 
when  about  a  half-mile  off,  we  lowered  the 
English  and  hoisted  the  Confederate  flag,  at 
the  same  time  firing  a  shot  across  her  bow.  We 
were  now  runningparallel with  her ; and  seeing 
that  she  had  increased  her  speed,  and  would 
probably  get  away,  fired  a  shot,  which  passed 
close  over  her  rail,  and  the  captain's  passen- 
gers then  forced  him  to  stop.  She  proved 
to  be  the  Electric  Spark,  from  New  York  for 

124 


New  Orleans,  and  carrying  the  United  States 
mail,  all  of  which  was  brought  on  board  and 
carefully  overhauled  with  the  view  of  obtain- 
ing useful  information.  At  one  time  we  were 
in  sight  of  Sandy  Hook.  All  the  passengers 
and  crew  were  transferred  before  dark  to  a 
fruit-schooner  bound  for  New  York,  only  a 
few  miles  distant.  We  then  prepared  to 
carry  off  our  prize,  to  be  converted  into  a 
cruiser;  but  a  sad  accident  changed  the 
captain's  plans,  and  he  ordered  her  to  be 
sunk,  which  was  done.  Midshipman  W.  B. 
Sinclair,  Jr.,  cousin  of  the  writer,  was  placed 
in  charge  of  a  boat  containing  the  steamer's 
money  safe,  and  attempted,  after  dark,  to 
pull  to  the  Florida,  about  a  half-mile  distant. 
With  this  load  his  speed  was  necessarily 
slow.  The  wind,  freshening  in  the  mean- 
time, caused  his  boat  to  ship  considerable 
water,  and  she  sank  when  not  more  than  one 
hundred  yards  from  the  ship.  He  had  secured 
one  of  the  oars,  when  the  cockswain,  William 
Sharkey,  appealed  to  him  for  help,  saying  he 
could  not  swim.  His  appeal  to  this  brave  lad, 
only  in  his  teens,  was  not  in  vain,  but  with 
the  oar  he  gave  his  life.  The  Confederate 
Navy  Department  did  not  let  this  gallant 
act  pass  unnoticed.  A  "  general  order,"  eulo- 
gizing the  self-sacrifice,  was  read  on  board 
every  vessel  in  commission,  with  colors  at 
half-mast.  It  is  a  remarkable  coincidence 
that  Surgeon  Grafton,  who  was  drowned  at 
Las  Rocas,  was  appealed  to  in  the  same  way 


CONFEDERATE  COMMERCE-DESTROYERS. 


425 


as  was  Midshipman  Sinclair,  by  the  same 
man,  and  with  the  same  result. 

With  sad  hearts  we  now  stood  to  the  east- 
ward, with  a  wind  which  before  morning  in- 
creased to  a  gale.  In  due  course  we  arrived 
at  the  island  of  Madeira.  It  was  night  when 
we  came  to  anchor,  and  a  bright  moon  at  the 
time  revealed  a  man-of-war  at  anchor  near 
us,  which  we  were  satisfied  was  an  American. 
The  morning  opened  bright  and  beautiful. 
As  eight  o'clock  approached,  the  hour  for 
hoisting  colors  on  a  man  of  war,  the  officers 
and  men  on  our  neighbor  were  eagerly 
watching  our  movements,  no  doubt  as  well 
satisfied  of  our  identity  as  we  of  theirs.  As 
our  colors  floated  to  the  breeze  we  could  see 
a  stir  on  board.  Immediately  a  boat  was 
lowered  from  her  and  started  for  the  shore. 
The  object  of  that  visit  was  made  known 
when  we  went  on  shore  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  coaling  and  provisioning  the  ship. 
The  governor  requested  us  to  leave,— he 
could  not  order  us  to  do  so,— saying  the 
American  threatened  to  fire  on  us  if  we  at- 
tempted to  coal  ship.  In  vain  we  appealed 
to  the  governor,  and  cited  our  rights  as  bel- 
ligerents, at  the  same  time  telling  him  our 
enemy  was  only  bluffing.  Being  a  sailing- 
vessel,  and  the  weather  perfectly  calm,  he 
would  be  at  our  mercy.  Finally  we  agreed  to 
take  twenty-four  hours'  coal,  and  run  down 
to  Teneriffe,  in  order  to  relieve  the  Portu- 
guese governor's  mind ;  but  our  enemy  would 
not  agree  to  this. 

We  now  went  to  "  quarters,"  paid  an  extra 
price  for  the  labor,  got  the  coal  alongside, 
and  without  being  molested  hoisted  it  on 
board.  The  next  morning  we  anchored  at 
Teneriffe.  The  same  evening  our  friend 
sailed  in  and  came  to  anchor  near  us,  and  the 
same  game  of  bluff  was  tried  as  at  Madeira; 
but  this  being  a  Spanish  possession,  and  two 
of  their  men-of-war  being  present,  the  result 
was  that  the  American  was  allowed  the  usual 
twenty-four  hours  in  port,  and  we,  by  per- 
mission of  the  authorities,  remained  four  or 
five  days. 

Our  cruise  was  no  holiday,  though  our 
victims  were  only  defenseless  merchant- 
men. We  were  liable  to  meet  an  armed  ship 
at  any  time.  The  difficulty  of  getting  coal 
forced  us  to  keep  our  fires  banked,  and  in 
this  condition  we  could  not  get  under  steam 
in  less  than  fifteen  minutes— ample  time  for 
an  enemy  to  destroy  us  should  he  come  sud- 
denly upon  us  while  under  steam  himself. 
As  evidence  of  the  risk  we  ran  in  chasing 
vessels  at  night,— which  we  always  did  when 
we  sighted  them, — we  on  one  occasion 
Vol.  LVI.-54. 


chased  a  vessel,  and  upon  her  refusal  to 
heave  to  fired  a  blank  cartridge,  and  in  re- 
sponse received  a  like  salutation,  and  found 
ourselves  in  dangerous  proximity  to  a  man- 
of-war,  and  with  all  hands  at  quarters  and 
ready  for  action.  Our  supposed  prize  turned 
out  to  be  an  Englishman. 

In  regard  to  the  duties  and  discipline  on 
board  the  Florida,  we  were  governed  by  the 
same  rules  and  regulations  as  the  United 
States  navy.  The  majority  of  our  officers 
had  received  their  education  at  the  Naval 
Academy  at  Annapolis,  and  all  the  others 
save  one  were  the  sons  of  officers  who  had 
served  in  the  same  navy,  so  they  were  not 
ignorant  of  what  constituted  a  well-dis- 
ciplined ship.  It  may  seem  strange,  but  it 
is  nevertheless  true,  that  we  could  ship  a 
crew  in  the  manner  we  did,  and  at  the  same 
time  have  men  who  cared  for  the  officers  and 
ship,  as  ours  always  did.  It  is  true  our 
officers,  without  exception,  did  everything 
in  their  power  to  make  the  crew  comfortable 
and  happy,  and  every  indulgence  consistent 
with  discipline  was  granted. 

One  of  our  orders  was  that  the  private 
property  of  the  officers  and  crews  of  prizes 
should  always  be  respected,  and  I  cannot 
recall  an  instance  where  it  was  disobeyed. 
To  be  sure  that  this  order  was  not  violated, 
and  to  prevent  the  men  from  getting  liquor 
from  the  prizes,  a  midshipman  was  sent  with 
every  boarding  officer,  and  remained  with 
the  men  at  all  times.  Many  of  the  men 
taken  on  board  at  Brest  had  for  a  while 
abandoned  the  ocean  and  followed  the  for- 
tunes of  Garibaldi;  and  often  at  night,  when 
all  was  calm,  these  Italian  voices  joined  in 
singing  their  camp-songs,  and,  later  on,  our 
Confederate  songs. 

The  sight  of  an  American  flag  on  the  high 
seas  had  become  such  a  rare  occurrence  that 
in  October  it  was  decided  to  round  Cape 
Horn  and  make  a  raid  on  the  whalers  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean ;  and  with  this  object  in  view  our 
prow  was  turned  to  the  southward,  with  the 
intention  of  stopping  at  Bahia,  Brazil,  where 
we  were  to  give  our  own  men  a  much-needed 
run  on  shore,  and  at  the  same  time  make 
some  slight  repairs.  We  were  running  straight 
for  port,  and  expected  to  arrive  the  same  even- 
ing, when  about  noon  we  discovered  a  sail  to 
windward  and  seaward  which  looked  like  an 
American.  We  at  once  set  fore  and  aft  sails, 
lowered  the  propeller,  and  started  in  pur- 
suit. The  stranger  at  once  altered  his  course, 
crowded  on  all  sail,  and  showed  every  evi- 
dence that  he  suspected  our  mission.  This 
proved  to  be  our  last,  as  well  as  our  longest, 


426 


THE   CENTURY   MAGAZINE. 


chase,  not  coming  up  with  him  until  eight 
o'clock  at  night.  As  I  came  over  her  side 
with  Lieutenant  Bryan,  our  boarding  officer, 
the  captain  remarked:  "It  's  no  use  to  say 
anything;  I  knowed  ye  as  soon  as  I  seed  ye; 
but  you  did  n't  get  any  coffee  this  time,  only 
a  load  of  stones."  She  proved  to  be  the  bark 
Mondamen,  from  Rio  bound  to  Baltimore,  and 
it  seems  her  captain  had  been  made  prisoner 
by  us  before.  On  October  4  we  burned  this 
our  last  prize,  and  at  nine  o'clock  that  night 
steamed  into  the  harbor  of  Bahia.  As  we 
approached  our  anchorage,  a  boat,  evidently 
a  man-of-war,  pulled. near  us,  and,  in  reply 
to  our  inquiries,  stated  she  was  H.  M.  S. 
Curlew.  Lieutenant  Stone,  who  was  standing 
near  the  captain  at  the  time,  remarked  that 
her  Majesty's  officers  never  talked  through 
their  noses.  Daylight  proved  his  suspicions 
to  be  correct,  for  near  us  lay  the  United 
States  steamer  Wachusett,  Commander  Na- 
poleon Collins.  A  boat  soon  left  the  enemy's 
vessel  for  shore,  and  later  on  our  captain 
went  on  shore  making  an  official  call  upon 
the  governor,  and  asking  his  permission  to 
make  the  repairs  which  we  needed. 

During  this  visit  Captain  Morris,  at  the 
request  of  the  governor,  pledged  his  word  to 
commit  no  overt  act  while  in  the  harbor;  and 
United  States  Consul  Wilson,  acting  for  Com- 
mander Collins,  gave  the  same  promise.  Rely- 
ing upon  this  pledge,  we  allowed  half  of  our 
crew  to  go  on  shore,  -and  the  following  day 
permitted  the  others  to  do  the  same.  Previ- 
ous to  this,  however,  the  shot  were  drawn 
from  our  guns,  a  precaution  usually  taken 
while  in  port,  to  avoid  accident. 

Shortly  after  eight  o'clock  on  the  evening 
of  October  5,  while  in  charge  of  the  deck,  a 
boat  approached,  which  I  hailed,  and  was  in- 
formed that  it  contained  the  American  con- 
sul. Captain  Morris  not  being  on  board,  I  sent 
for  Mr.  Porter,  at  the  same  time  telling  the 
consul  to  come  alongside,  and  apologizing 
for  not  asking  him  on  board.  When  Mr. 
Porter  came  on  deck,  he  was  handed  from 
the  boat  a  letter  addressed,  "  Captain  Morris, 
Steamer  Florida."  To  this  form  of  address 
he  took  exception,  and  so  informed  Mr. 
Wilson.  But  the  latter  objected  to  address- 
ing our  captain  or  ship  in  any  other  way 
notwithstanding  Mr.  Porter's  calling  his  at- 
tention to  the  fact  that  General  Grant,  in 
his  communications  with  General  Lee,  ad- 
dressed him  as  the  commander  of  the  forces 
of  the  Confederate  States.  Mr.  Porter  also 
told  him  he  was  satisfied  as  to  the  object  of 
his  visit,  and  that  if  he  (the  consul)  was  very 
anxious  for  a  favorable  reply,  he  could  get  it 


by  addressing  his  communication  properly. 
This  ended  the  interview. 

The  following  day  Captain  Morris  was  ap- 
proached by  a  gentleman,  who  stated  he  was 
authorized  by  Mr.  Wilson  to  challenge  us  to 
fight  the  Wachusett,  and  that  he  (Mr.  Wilson) 
would  assist  us,  in  any  way  in  his  power,  to 
have  such  repairs  put  upon  our  ship  as  we 
deemed  necessary.  To  this  Captain  Morris 
replied :  "  You  may  say  to  Mr.  Wilson  that  I 
have  come  to  Bahia  for  a  special  purpose, 
and  when  this  is  accomplished  I  shall  leave. 
I  will  neither  seek  nor  avoid  a  contest  with 
the  Wachusett,  but  should  I  encounter  her 
outside  Brazilian  waters,  I  will  use  my  utmost 
endeavors  to  destroy  her." 

About  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
7th,  Master's  Mate  T.  T.  Hunter,  being  in 
charge  of  the  deck  at  the  time,  heard  the 
Wachusett  slip  her  cable,  and  saw  at  once 
that  she  was  under  way  and  standing  for 
us.  He  had  Mr.  Porter  called  at  once,  the 
captain  being  on  shore;  but  as  the  latter 
reached  the  deck  the  Wachusett  struck  us  in 
the  starboard  mizzen-chains,  carrying  away 
our  mizzenmast  and  maintopmast,  both  of 
which  came  down  on  our  deck,  crushing  our 
awnings,  which  were  set  at  the  time  down  to 
the  deck,  and  thus,  as  it  were,  enveloping 
us  in  a  bag.  At  this  time  two  shots  were 
fired  from  their  battery,  in  order  to  make 
sure  of  sinking  us;  but  their  guns  were  de- 
pressed too  much,  and  the  shot  only  struck 
the  water  alongside. 

Oft-repeated  and  anxious  inquiries  were 
now  made  to  know  if  we  were  willing  to  sur- 
render; but  not  until  an  engineer  was  sent 
below,  and  reported  the  ship  was  rapidly 
sinking,— a  report,  I  may  add,  without  a 
shadow  of  truth,— did  Mr.  Porter  and  his 
adviser  Mr.  Stone  agree  to  surrender  the 
ship;  nor  would  they  have  surrendered  had 
they  not  believed  she  would  sink  before  the 
enemy  could  tow  her  out.  During  the  time 
which  elapsed  between  the  ramming  and  the 
surrender  of  the  Florida,  a  constant  and 
heavy  fire  from  small  arms  was  kept  up, 
but,  strange  to  say,  with  only  three  wounded 
as  the  result,  and  they  were  on  the  Wachusett. 

It  will  doubtless  be  said  that  we  showed  a 
want  of  vigilance  in  permitting  ourselves  to 
be  caught  unprepared  to  give  battle  as  we 
were;  but  there  are  some  extenuating  cir- 
cumstances. As  previously  stated,  it  was 
our  intention  to  start  upon  a  long  and  tedi- 
ous cruise.  Our  men,  with  few  exceptions, 
had  not  been  on  shore  since  we  left  Brest 
in  February,  and  therefore  greatly  needed 
recreation.   The  moment  we  sincerely  gave 


CONFEDERATE  COMMERCE-DESTROYERS. 


427 


our  pledge  to  make  no  attack  upon  the 
enemy  we  placed  ourselves  at  a  disadvan- 
tage, and  it  would  have  been  better  to  have 
left  the  harbor  at  once.  When  I  say  we 
placed  ourselves  at  a  disadvantage  I  mean 
that  if  a  collision  occurred  after  that,  it 
must  be  begun  by  the  enemy;  and  the  at- 
tacking party,  particularly  at  night,  has 
greatly  the  advantage. 

Commander  Collins  gave  as  an  excuse  for 
thusattackingus  in  a  neutral  portthat  his  gov- 
ernment would  never  overlook  his  permitting 
the  Florida  to  escape  him;  but  I  leave  it  to 
the  reader  to  decide  if  the  conversation  be- 
tween the  representatives  of  the  American 
consul  and  Captain  Morris,  and  the  previous 
interviews  between  the  consul  and  Mr.  Porter, 
looked  as  if  we  intended  to  run  away.  But 
supposing  that  such  was  our  intention,  the 
Wachusett  was  a  heavier  ship  than  ours,  and 
had  a  larger  crew.  The  formation  of  the 
harbor  of  Bahia  was  such  that  a  single  vessel 
could  have  completely  sealed  it,  nor  can  I 
think  that  an  enemy  who  would  thus  attack 
us  in  a  neutral  port  would  hesitate  long 
about  blockading  such  port. 

I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  say  that  those 
officers  of  the  Wachusett  who  expressed  them- 
selves to  us  on  the  subject  deprecated  the 
manner  in  which  we  were  taken;  and  I  should 
also  add  that  our  treatment  while  on  the 
Wachusett  was  uniformly  courteous,  to  the 
extent  even  of  surrendering  their  rooms  to 
us.  Had  Captain  Morris  cared  less  for  his 
word  than  he  did,  the  Wachusett  would  prob- 
ably have  met  our  fate,  as  on  the  night  of 
our  arrival,  and  certainly  a  portion  of  the 
next  day,  a  part  of  the  Wachusett's  machin- 
ery was  on  shore,  and  this  was  known  to  us 
at  the  time. 

As  soon  as  the  ship  was  surrendered,  a 


prize  crew  was  placed  on  board,  and  all  our 
officers  and  men  transferred  to  the  Wachu- 
sett, who  took  the  Florida  in  tow,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  sea,  touching  at  St.  Thomas, 
where  we  met  the  Kearsarge,  with  the  pris- 
oners taken  from  the  Alabama,  arriving  in 
Hampton  Roads  in  due  course.  Of  course  a 
demand  was  made  by  Brazil  go  have  the 
Florida,  with  her  officers  and  crew,  returned 
to  Bahia;  but  all  the  beautiful  rhetoric  of 
Mr.  Seward  and  the  Brazilian  minister  was 
cut  short  when  a  careless  tug  accidentally 
ran  into  and  sank  the  Florida  while  lying  in 
deep  water  in  Hampton  Roads. 

After  this  accident  we  were  released  from 
Fort  Warren  on  February  1,  and  were  per- 
mitted to  go  to  Europe  in  a  Cunarder.  We 
were  not  allowed  to  place  ourselves  under  any 
obligations  to  the  enemy,  being  permitted  to 
pay  our  own  passage.  The  captures  by  the 
Florida  and  her  tenders,  while  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Maffitt,  amounted  to 
fifty-five  vessels;  but  I  have  no  data  which 
would  enable  me  to  give  the  number  cap- 
tured during  Captain  Morris's  command. 
They  probably  amounted  to  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  vessels.  It  was  a  lively  and  brilliant 
entertainment;  but  John  Bull  kindly  came  in 
when  it  was  at  an  end,  and  paid  the  fiddler. 

It  always  struck  me  as  a  distinction  with- 
out a  difference  when  orders  were  issued  to 
us  to  destroy  the  property  of  Northern  mer- 
chants, but  to  respect  the  property  of  the 
officers  and  crew.  In  the  former  case  the 
owner  was  absent;  in  the  latter  he  was  pres- 
ent. But  our  instructions  and  example  in 
this  mode  of  warfare  came  from  those  who 
were  our  victims.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  how- 
ever, that  this  relic  of  barbarism  will  in 
time  be  frowned  down  by  the  whole  family 
of  nations. 


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